Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana were embroiled in war of words as farmers from Punjab, marching to Delhi to protest against the Centre’s recent agriculture laws , were denied entry into Haryana enroute.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh alleged that Haryana was forcibly stopping farmers from marching to Delhi, which was condemnable and also cautioned the BJP-led government against pushing farmers to the brink.
Questioning the need to stop farmers from proceeding to Delhi, Capt. Amarinder said: “Why is M.L. Khattar govt in Haryana stopping the farmers from moving to Delhi? The tyrannical use of brute force against peacefully protesting farmers is totally undemocratic and unconstitutional.”
Terming it a “sad irony” that on Constitution Day, the constitutional right of farmers to protest was being suppressed, the Chief Minister flayed the use of brute force by the Haryana police, which had used water cannons and tear gas in a bid to stop the Punjab farmers from marching through the State. Authorities also did not allow farmers from Haryana to move out of their villages in many places.
Hitting back, Mr Khattar accused the Punjab Chief Minister of indulging in ‘cheap politics’ and asked him to stop ‘inciting innocent farmers’
“@capt_amarinderji, I’ve said it earlier and I’m saying it again, I’ll leave politics if there will be any trouble on the MSP — therefore, please stop inciting innocent farmers,” Mr. Khattar said in a tweet.
“I've been trying to reach out to you for the last 3 days but sadly you decided to stay unreachable — is this how serious you are for farmer's issues? You're only tweeting and running away from talks, Why,” he the Haryana CM said.
In another tweet, he said, “Time for your lies, deception and propaganda is over Let the people see your real face. Please stop putting the lives of people in danger during the corona pandemic. I urge you to not play with the lives of the people — at least avoid cheap politics during the time of pandemic.”
Expressing surprise at Mr. Khattar’s remarks on the use of force by Haryana police, Capt. Amarinder said, “It is the farmers who need to be convinced on MSP, not me. Khattar should have tried talking to the farmers before the start of their Dilli Chalo rally if he thought he could persuade them.”
Rejecting his counterpart’s charge that he (Capt. Amarinder) was inciting farmers, he asked if that were the case, why were farmers from Haryana also marching to Delhi. He also denied that he had been unreachable and said the Haryana Chief Minister had not made any attempt to get in touch with him.
“Why would I not speak to him when I am speaking to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister regularly on the farmers’ issue,” Captan Amrinder asked, adding that even on Thursday he had spoken to Mr Amit Shah twice on the situation at the Punjab-Haryana border.
