Chandigarh,September 4: Ridiculingthe Akali decision to set up a panel to hold talks with the state’s angryfarmers, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday said noovertures could absolve the Badals of their responsibility in thrusting thedraconian and undemocratic Farm Laws on the farming community.
Consideringthat the Badals themselves were at the root of the problem, and the co-conspiratorsof the Centre’s anti-farmer agenda, the Akalis neither deserve nor can expectany understanding or forgiveness from the farmers, said the Chief Minister.
TheAkalis’ apathy towards the farmers was evident from the fact that even now,instead of understanding and relating with the pain of the farmers, Sukhbir wasrefusing to simply recognise the protestors as farmers and was insulting themby alleging that they owed allegiance to other political parties, including theCongress, said Captain Amarinder.
“Ifyou (Sukhbir) cannot even recognise a farmer when you see one how can you everhope to gain their trust and confidence,” asked the Chief Minister, adding thatonly a true son of Punjab’s soil can empathise with its people and their pain.
CaptainAmarinder termed Sukhbir Badal’s announcement of suspension of the ShiromaniAkali Dal’s election outreach programme and formation of the panel to engagewith the farmers as a desperate measure to woo Punjab’s voters ahead of the2022 Assembly polls. “But the farmers, and the people of Punjab are not fools,and your attempts to befool them with lies will backfire on you,” he warned theSAD president. He added that the state had completely and unequivocallyrejected the Akalis, who had first looted them for 10 years in coalition withthe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and then cruelly worked hand in glove withthem to impose the Farm Laws on the farmers.
TheChief Minister pointed out that SAD was an integral part of the ruling NDA atthe Centre all through the Farm Laws legislation process, with Harsimrat Badala member of the Union Cabinet which approved the Ordinance that spelt the deathknell for the farmers. Their dramatic split from the NDA subsequently wasnothing but an attempt at eyewash, he said, adding that the SAD and BJP wereclearly still working in collusion against the interests of Punjab.
Allthat the Badals are interested in is getting back into the saddle by hook or bycrook, said Captain Amarinder, adding that having failed in getting restoringthe faith of the farmers with their crocodile tears, the Akalis were nowpretending to engage with them. “Why did they not talk to the farmers beforeallowing their partners in the NDA to bring in the black laws?”, he asked,pointing out that even after the Ordinances were introduced, the Badals hadrefused adamantly to pay heed to the farmers’ concerns and had, instead,vigorously defended the laws for several months.
TermingSukhbir’s statement on ‘removing all misunderstandings’ by talking to farmerorganisations’ as ludicrous, the Chief Minister said that there were nomisunderstandings among the farmers about SAD’s role in the entire Farm Lawsaffair, which was a clear and brazen conspiracy on the part of the BJP toappease their capitalist crony friends at the cost of the farming community.