Former Haryana Home Minister and BJP leader Prof. Sampat Singh has again came out in support of the farmers’ movement demanding that the government open the avenues of dialogue. He added that farmers alone could sustain an agitation for so long and not any political party.
Prof. Singh had this past month refused nomination as a member of the Haryana State Executive Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party in support of the farmers’ agitation. In a letter to State BJP chief O.P. Dhankar, Prof. Singh had said “he was unable to accept this responsibility because of the ongoing farmers’ agitation in support of their demands, which I also supported from Day One”.
‘Losing patience’
On Tuesday, Prof. Singh, in a tweet from his handle, said the agitating farmers were losing patience time and again and that could happen during such a long movement. His tweet came in context of the farmers’ clash with State Assembly Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa in Sirsa on Sunday.
Prof. Singh said no political party has the capacity to run a movement for so long and the farmers alone could do so, demanding that the government open the avenues of dialogue with them. In an obvious reference to the cases registered against the farmers in Sirsa two days ago, Prof. Singh, with a folded hands emoji, said Mr. Gangwa and Sirsa MP Sunita Duggal show big heart and withdraw the cases.
Speaking to The Hindu over phone, Prof. Singh, said the government should show “large heart” to initiate dialogue with farmers without any “pre-conditions” and patiently listen to their grievances.
Recalling his own experience regarding the farmers’ agitation in Jind’s Kandela village during Om Prakash Chautala’s rule, Prof. Singh said the government, like parents, must listen to the public. The six-time MLA said he had led and been a witness to many agitations over the past four decades, but no movement had lasted so long.
‘Listen to farmers’
He said the Opposition in Haryana was “weak” and a “divided house” and did not have the potential to run a movement for long against the BJP. Prof. Singh said the BJP came to power with the farmers’ support and now must listen to them.
“So far the farmers have managed to keep the outsiders away from the movement, but they might sneak into it if it prolongs. The politics has degraded and people are just looking for small political gains. No one has the guts to tell truth to the people at the top of the political hierarchy,” he lamented.
Prof. Singh said the movement could lead to violence. “We must listen to the farmers’ grievances. It is not just about politics, it is about the society as whole. Even wars can end with dialogues, these farmers are after all our own people,” he said.
