PunjabChief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday expressed shock over therecent statements of senior BJP leaders, including the Union and Haryanaagriculture ministers, on the deaths of protesting farmers, saying that theparty had lost the moral and ethical right to continue to rule at the Centreand in the state.
TheBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre should step down inthe interest of the nation, as should the ML Khattar government in Haryana,said the Chief Minister, slamming Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar’sand state agriculture minister JP Dalal’s statements on the deaths of farmersprotesting against the black Farm Laws at the borders of the national capitalfor more than two months now.
Punjabalone has paid compensation to families of as many as 102 farmers who have diedin these protests, said the Chief Minister, lashing out at Tomar over hisoutrageous statement citing Delhi Police information that only 2 farmers havedied and one has committed suicide. Even the media has released details of morethan 200 farmers (from various states) who have lost their lives in thisagitation, Captain Amarinder pointed out, while also lambasting Haryanaminister Dalal over the latter’s insensitive remark that farmers who have diedin this agitation would have died sitting at homes anyways.
TheChief Minister also slammed the Union Agriculture Minister over his statementthat the central government has no plans to provide financial assistance fromthe Kisan Kalyan Fund to the families of the deceased farmers. It wasdeplorable that a government that can spend Rs 8 crore on publicity campaignfor the new Farm Laws cannot give compensation to the families of the farmerswho have sacrificed their lives in fighting for their rights, he said.
Thesestatements of Tomar and Dalal reflect a shocking lack of concern on the part ofthe BJP leadership towards the farmers who have been braving the elements andthe lathis of Delhi and Haryana Police in their fight for survival, saidCaptain Amarinder.
Referringto Tomar’s claim that the Centre has no count of the deceased farmers, theChief Minister said it was appalling that a government which claimed to beworking in the interest of the farmers does not even know how many farmers haddied in the protests against their Farm Laws, just as they had no idea, somemonths ago, on how many migrants had died in the country during the lockdown.“What kind of government is this that has no data (or so it claims) of peopledying on the streets in their own country,” asked Captain Amarinder.
“Eitherthe Agriculture Minister deliberately lied on the floor of the House or simplydoes not care to even ascertain the facts and figures,” said the ChiefMinister, adding that this was not the first time a central minister had made afalse statement in Parliament on the issue of the Farm Laws or the farmers’ agitation.Another minister had earlier stated falsely in the House that Punjab had beentaken on board on the Farm Laws in its capacity as a member of the agriculturalreforms committee, which was also a blatant lie, recalled Captain Amarinder,adding that not once were these legislations even mentioned in that committee,in which Punjab was included after one meeting had already taken place.
Chargingthe Centre with total apathy towards the farmers, as manifest in its refusal toconcede their just demand and to compensate the families of the deceased, theChief Minister said it was unfortunate that senior ministers in the UnionGovernment like Tomar were using the august parliamentary precincts to promotethe BJP’s campaign of misinformation on the Farm Laws and the farmers’agitation. Having failed to convince the farmers with their fibs and fictions,the Union Government was now resorting to parliamentary impropriety of thehighest level, in total violation of the Constitutional principles and ideologies,he added.