The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will hold a Maha Kisan Sammelanon March 21, in support of the farmers and their agitation. The programme to beheld at Bagha Purana, will be addressed by Delhi Chief Minister and AAP'snational convener Arvind Kejriwal.
The announcement was made by AAP state president and MPBhagwant Mann, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Harpal SinghCheema, party's Punjab incharge Jarnail Singh and co-incharge Raghav Chadha,during a press conference convened here on Monday. The party volunteers and thepeople from all parts of Punjab would be invited to AAP's Maha Kisan Sammelan.
Addressing the media on the occasion, the leaders saidthat the AAP genuinely believes that the draconian farm laws need to berepealed immediately and through this Maha Sammelan, a message would be sent toPrime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government to immediately repeal theanti-farmers black laws. They said that the AAP was the first party tohighlight the issue pertaining to the black farm laws and the consequences itwould have for the farmers of the state.
The leaders said that the party held public meetings inthe villages of Punjab to inform the people about the black farm laws and itsconsequences. "AAP motivated the panchayats of Punjab to call a gram sabhaand pass a resolution against these farm laws. AAP was the first party tosupport the farmer's march to Delhi," they added.
The leaders said that along with this, the AAP celebratedLohri in favour of the farmers and burnt the copies of central farm laws as asign of protest. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had also called a special session inDelhi and tore the copies of the central farm laws and protested against the Modi-ledcentral government.
Also, AAP MPs Bhagwant Mann and Sanjay Singh took everyopportunity to protest against the black farm laws in-front of PM NarendraModi. Moreover, when the farmers had reached the borders and were protesting inthe blistering cold, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and AAP volunteers worked day andnight as 'sewadars' to strengthen the farmers' movement and to make their liveseasier. The AAP led by Arvind Kejriwal had arranged toilets, hot water, foodand many other services for the struggling farmers.
They said that Arvind Kejriwal visited the farmers twiceto look at the arrangements made by his government and continuing on this sameline of thought, the Aam Aadmi Party would convene a Kisan Mahasabha in supportof the farmers in March.
Slamming the traditional parties in Punjab, the AAPleaders said that all three parties: Congress, Akali Dal and the BJP hadbetrayed and backstabbed the farmers of the state. They said that all thethree, being hand in glove, had passed the black farm laws and now was sheddingcrocodile tears to show that they were pro-farmers. "These parties havenever been farmers-friendly. The SAD government in 2013 had passed the ContractFarming Act 2013 which allowed the government and the private players to convertthe farmers of Punjab into bonded labour," they added.
Later in 2017, Captain Amarinder government had passedthe APMC Amendment Act, which privatised the procurement of fruits andvegetables, the effects of which are still being seen, said the leaders. Theysaid that the Akali Dal for a very long time was in support of the farm billand although both Sukhbir Badal and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal, had thepower to stop these bills, when they were in an alliance with the BJP, they didabsolutely nothing.
"Similarly, Captain Amarinder was a part of the HighPowered Committee which drafted these laws, but he raised no objection.Moreover, when the farmers were moving towards Delhi in protest, none of theseparties helped the farmers in their agitation. The farmers braced the cold, thewater cannons, the abuse and defamation but these leaders did not utter aword," said the AAP leaders.
They said that now, all these parties were trying toderail the farmer movement. Further lashing out at the Modi government andCaptain Amarinder Singh, the AAP leaders said that the central government hadplanted mischievous figures into the farmer protests which converted theJanuary 26 rally into a violent protest and Captain Amarinder did nothing tostop it.
They said that after January 26, when many youth of thestate went missing, Captain Amarinder made no efforts to bring them back or toget to know their condition. "However, now he is appealing to the farmerunions that they should accept the proposals of the central government. This isabsolutely shameful. Captain has shown no consideration for the hundreds oflives lost, for the long months of struggle and for the entire agitation,"the leaders added.
The leaders said that the preparations for the rally hasalready begun and in March, Punjab would see a new awakening and the hypocrisyof these parties would be exposed. They said that the AAP will not sit by andwatch these parties derail the farmer protests. "The AAP will make thefarmers' movement stronger. These traditional parties would be told that nomatter how hard they try they cannot kill the farmer agitation," added theleaders.