After the Supreme Court rapped the Centre over its failure to resolve the deadlock with farmers over the new farm laws, the Congress on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the farmers and repeal the three laws.
Congress communication chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference, urged the top court to consider registering cases against Mr. Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Haryana Chief Minister (CM) Manihar Lal Khattar and Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath for destroying public property and digging up national highways to prevent the farmers from reaching Delhi.
The Congress also said it “respected” the Supreme Court’s concern for the farmers but maintained that the issue cannot be resolved through a legalistic route but by Parliament.
At a separate press conference, Haryana Congress chief, Kumari Selja and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge Vivek Bansal slammed Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for alleging that the Congress was responsible for instigating farmers.
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"Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise not only to the families of 65 farmers who have sacrificed themselves, but also to the 62 crore farmers of the country. The Prime Minister should thereafter talk to the agitating farmers himself and nothing short of it is acceptable to the annadatas (food providers),” Mr. Surjewala told reporters.
"The Prime Minister and Home Minister are responsible for the current situation. We are confident that the Supreme Court will take note of the anti-national action of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister as well as the chief ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and register cases against them,” Mr. Surjewala said.
“The Supreme Court is the protector of laws and the Constitution and we all have faith in it. If someone opposes the laws in a Gandhian manner, then the court will also support such an opposition, as protesting peacefully is a basic right enshrined in the Constitution,” he added.
However, commenting on the possibility of a court-appointed Committee to break the deadlock, Mr Surjewala said, “We respect the Hon’ble Supreme Court and its concern for the welfare of the farmers that it has expressed, but, ultimately repeal of the laws and the discretion to repeal the laws, which an autocratic Prime Minister and his Government have made in order to help his crony capitalist friends lies at the doorstep of the Government and not the Supreme Court.”
Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja said, “Though the final orders are yet to come, the Supreme Court's comments are an indictment of the government. Good sense should prevail and the Centre should repeal the three laws.”
