As protesting farmers and trade union members from Punjab and other states continued to make their way towards Delhi as part of their protests against the Centre’s farm laws and policies, the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana found themselves in the middle of a major row on Twitter.
It began with Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar accusing Captain Amarinder Singh of “inciting innocent farmers” over the protests and saying that he’ll “leave politics if there’ll be any trouble on the MSP”.
One of the key reasons for the protests over the farm laws is that farmers fear the Centre’s measures will lead to the end of the Minimum Support Price system.
Khattar went on to say that he had been trying to reach his Punjab counterpart for the last three days but had not been able to do so, showing he was not serious about the issue or talks. He also urged Captain Singh to “avoid cheap politics during the time of pandemic.”
BACKGROUND TO KHATTAR’S ACCUSATIONS
These strong comments by Khattar appeared to be a response to Captain Singh’s tweets asking why the Haryana government was resorting to force to provoke the farmers. “It’s a sad irony that on #ConstitutionDay2020 the constitutional right of farmers is being oppressed in this manner. Let them pass [ML Khattar] ji, don't push them to the brink. Let them take their voice to Delhi peacefully,” he wrote.
He also urged the BJP to direct their state governments to not indulge in “strong-arm tactics” against farmers.
Amid tight security on Thursday, over two lakh farmers and members of trade unions from Punjab, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana have called for ‘Delhi Chalo’, a two-day march, to protest against three contentious farm laws passed by the Centre in September.
Haryana had sealed its borders with Punjab on Thursday, 26 November, after receiving orders from CM Manohar Lal Khattar, reported NDTV. As a preventive step, the Haryana government sealed all its major entry points along the Punjab border and imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to arrest anyone assembling for the protests.
Despite attempts to stop the farmers at the border, including using water cannons and tear gas, farmers managed to cross the border between Punjab and Haryana at Shambhu, throwing police barricades into the river. Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav and a group of farmers were detained by the Haryana Police elsewhere for ‘breach of the peace’.
The Delhi government has also refused permission for the protests citing the COVID-19 pandemic, and protesters at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere were detained.
CAPTAIN RESPONDS
Responding to Khattar, the Punjab CM said that he was “shocked” at his response, adding:
“It‘s the farmers who’ve to be convinced on MSP, not me. You should’ve tried to talk to them before their #DilliChalo. And if you think I’m inciting farmers then why are Haryana farmers also marching to Delhi?”
He also hit back on the issue of the coronavirus pandemic, noting that it was the Centre that had pushed through the farm laws during this time, despite the impact on farmers.
In a video released later in the day, he said that stopping the farmers “is going against the constitutional spirit and against freedom of speech in this country.” He urged the Haryana government to not stop the protesters, and also urged the Delhi government to allow them to raise their concerns in the capital.
As a way to resolve the crisis, he suggested that the Centre could amend the Food Security Act to mandate MSP to give a reassurance to the farmers, and also urged the farmer leaders to meet with the government and discuss their problems.
“I am very keen that they go because these things, by confronting the police, are not resolved. You have to sit across the table, and you’ve got to come to an understanding with the leadership. And if the leadership has called you (the farmer unions), I have already sent a message to them, they must go on December 3rd. But if you have these sort of provocations when you have the police firing tear gas and all, then they will have second thoughts.”Captain Amarinder Singh, Punjab CM
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar has offered to speak “at the secretary level in Punjab to dispel wrong notions of our farmer brothers there” on 3 December. He also appealed to the farmers to not agitate as “we’re ready to talk about issues and resolve differences” through dialogue.
BADALS WADE INTO DEBATE, ATTACK CAPTAIN & CENTRE
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal came out in support of the farmers, saying that the farmers weren’t doing politics, and that they stood united – but also took a potshot at the Punjab CM for not taking a stronger political stance. In comments to news agency ANI, he said:
“Farmers don’t want to begin their campaign under any political flag. Farmers of all parties stand united on this (Farm Laws) issue. Captain Amarinder Singh played the most bungling role as he didn’t protest at all.”
SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who resigned from the central government Cabinet in protest over the farm laws in September (when they were still bills), condemned the attempts to stop the farmers from marching to Delhi.
“Using force against farmers on Constitution Day has turned the day a 'black day' for 'annadattas' of the country,” she said, according to news agency PTI. “The BJP-led central government is treating farmers as an enemy of the State. We witnessed the same treatment when Punjabis were stopped from going to Delhi during the Asiad Games. Such repressive tactics can have very dangerous repercussions as we have seen in the past.”
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)