Chandigarh: As the farmers’ agitation on the Punjab-Haryana border continued on the fourth day Friday, Opposition parties trained their guns at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Thursday for not fulfilling his pre-poll promise of bringing in a state act to ensure minimum support price (MSP) for farmers.
Farmers from Haryana and Punjab resumed their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march Tuesday demanding legal assurance of MSP and a pension. But they faced resistance at the Haryana border, where security forces deployed tear gas, nails and barbed wire to block their way.
Almost all prominent Opposition leaders posted videos of Mann’s pre-poll speeches and statements, in which he had vowed to legally back the MSP of over 20 crops.
Mann also faced severe criticism for not taking up the matter of police and paramilitary forces using tear gas and plastic bullets on agitating farmers with the Haryana government.
Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa Thursday accused Mann of being complicit with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Haryana government against the farmers.
“For the past three days, the Haryana government has adopted a tyrant stance. The Haryana Police have been firing tear gas shells and rubber bullets towards the farmers who have camped in Punjab’s jurisdiction. Around 130 Punjabi farmers have been injured. However, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, has failed miserably to lodge an FIR against Haryana Police,” Bajwa said in a press statement issued in Chandigarh.
He even pointed out that not even a single Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader condemned the Manohar Lal Khattar government for attacking the Punjabi farmers. “This proves that Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann was working hand in glove with Haryana CM, which is like backstabbing the entire farming community,” he added.
Bajwa claimed that to remain in the BJP’s good books, the Punjab CM had attempted to intermediate between farmers’ unions and the BJP government.
He was referring to the first round of talks between the farmer leaders and the Union ministers for a resolution to the pending demands of the farmer leaders held last week. Mann had mediated between the two parties during the talks but no result had come out of the meeting.
During the second round of talks between the two parties Tuesday, Punjab agriculture minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal had mediated.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued late Thursday following the third round of talks between farmer leaders and Union ministers in Chandigarh, the CM, who was part of the meeting, was at pains to explain his position to media persons.
“The opposition is labeling us as ‘B’ team of the BJP but fact of the matter is that AAP is the ‘A’ team of farmers,” Mann said. He added that he participated in the meetings between farmers and the Union ministers only because the farmers had desired so.
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Opposition attacks Mann
On Tuesday, in his post on the social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Bajwa said the Haryana Police had no jurisdiction to fire tear gas shells on the farmers who were in Punjab’s territory.
The Haryana Police have been firing tear gas shells towards the Punjab farmers, who have been gathered in the Punjab's jurisdiction. How can the Haryana police attack the farmers, who are still in Punjab? Punjab CM @BhagwantMann, who also holds the home portfolio, seems to have… pic.twitter.com/PWulh0izm6
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) February 13, 2024
Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Union cabinet minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal also attacked the CM saying that the chief minister seems to be in league with the Haryana government.
Punjab CM @BhagwantMann has a lot to answer for. Punjabis are asking why he acted in league with the Haryana govt and allowed the Haryana police to use drones to fire tear gas shells in Punjab territory besides firing live and plastic bullets to stop farmers from proceeding to…
— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) February 14, 2024
Meanwhile, Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said that what AAP ministers are doing is nothing more than lip service.
“If they’re genuinely interested to help farmers they should press upon @BhagwantMann to remove barricading on river Ghaggar bridge as its Punjab territory and register criminal cases against Haryana Police officers for injuring over 100 farmers thru tear gas shells and rubber bullets etc until then it’ll be presumed Punjab government is towing BJP line (sic)” he posted on ‘X’ Thursday.
State Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, along with other leaders, Thursday even submitted a memorandum to the Punjab chief secretary Anurag Verma demanding exemplary punishment against the criminal violations perpetrated by the Haryana Police on the agitating farmers.
“Have submitted a memorandum to @CsPunjab demanding registration of FIR against Haryana Home minister @anilvijminister & senior police officers of Haryana,” said Warring.
Immediate Exemplary punishment must follow against the criminal violations perpetrated by @police_haryana inside Punjab’s constitutional boundary against Punjab’s farmers. Have submitted a memorandum to @CsPunjab demanding registration of FIR against Haryana Home minister… pic.twitter.com/qjhZh1T4dB
— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) February 15, 2024
Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia posted on the same issue and shared a video of a news report showing tear gas shells and plastic bullets being fired at agitating farmers in Punjab’s territory.
“Can the chief minister answer why no action is being taken against those who have attacked farmers in Punjab’s territory. Every Punjabi knows that Bhagwant Mann is in cohorts with the BJP government in the Centre,” said Majithia.
Pre-poll promise dug out
Meanwhile, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu shared an old video on ‘X’ Thursday where Mann as AAP leader is demanding that the Punjab government should bring in an Act guaranteeing MSP, not only on wheat and paddy but also on other crops like cotton.
The Golden Drum; lot of noise , nothing inside but air … थोथा चना , बाजे घना ए pic.twitter.com/FLWVhlaHFn
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) February 15, 2024
Majithia also posted the same video Thursday and questioned: “Why is the Punjab government not bringing in an act to make MSP a legal guarantee?”.
In another video posted by Bajwa Thursday, Mann had in a pre-assembly election interview with Zee News in 2021 said that the CM had no right to be in his chair if his government could not provide MSP to the farmers on any and every crop that he cultivated.
“This is to remind you of what you said chief minister Bhagwant Mannji. If the BJP government in the Centre is not agreeing to the legal guarantee MSP law then at least you should stick to your words because now you are in power in Punjab,” posted Bajwa.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)