'India Bows in Shame': Leaders Slam Haryana Cops for Lathi-Charge on Farmers

"Again the blood of farmers is shed. India bows its head in shame," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi said it was a 'shame' that the farmers have to "shed blood".

(Photo: PTI / Altered by The Quint)

Several farmers were injured after Haryana police resorted to lathi charge against those who were protesting a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Karnal on Saturday, 28 August.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday called out police violence against protesting farmers in Haryana's Karnal, tweeting that it was a 'shame' that the farmers have to "shed blood".

With a two-line tweet in Hindi, Gandhi shared a photo of a farmer who was injured in the protest.

"Again the blood of farmers is shed. India bows its head in shame," Gandhi tweet read.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the Khattar-led government was treating farmers like General Reginald Dyer (behind the Jallianwala Bagh massacre), refusing to allow them to protest peacefully against controversial farm laws.

In a video posted on Twitter by farmer activist Ramandeep Singh Mann, a man, said to be a duty magistrate, can be seen instructing police personnel to take strict action against anyone who breaches the Karnal city border. In the video, the man can be heard saying “sar phod dena” (break their heads) to the cops.

Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh too slammed his Haryana counterpart for "unleashing brazen brutality of the police on the peacefully protesting farmers, many of whom were injured in the lathi-charge," news agency ANI reported.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik criticised CM Khattar and demanded an apology for the lathi charge on farmers.

Speaking to NDTV, Malik also demanded the removal of a sub-divisional magistrate who was caught on video instructing the police to "crack the heads" of the protesting farmers. Malik said that the government was supporting him and that he was not fit for the role of a district official.

In his interview with NDTV, referring to self as "a farmer's son," Malik stated that Khattar should apologise to the farmers for using violence against them.

'Government Is Scared': Yogendra Yadav

According to The Indian Express report, the farmers tried to block the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vehicles moving towards the hotel but were unable to do so due to heavy police presence. The clashes took place when farmers refused to disperse from the National Highway, resulting in the police action.

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav too hit out at the Haryana government, stating that the elected representatives were scared and were making the cops take the centre stage.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha – the umbrella body under which many farmer groups have united to protest the farm laws – has called for a road jam across the state, following the incident.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday met the injured farmers in a hospital in Karnal and condemned the "brutal" lathi-charge by Haryana police, news agency PTI reported.

Tikait stated that the conspiracy to attack the farmers was clear as the instruction of the SDM magistrate to the police to break the farmers' heads and hit them with sticks was to suppress the voice of farmers.

(With inputs from NDTV, ANI and PTI)