WITHDRAW LOOKOUT NOTICES AGAINST FARMER LEADERS: CAPT

CHANDIGARH: Terming the issuance of lookout notices against farmer leaders as “absolutely wrong”, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday said that treating the farmers as a flight risk was not only illogical but condemnable.

The CM said that most of them were small farmers with small land holdings and not big corporate raiders like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Mehul Choksi, who had fled over the past few years after looting the country of billions of rupees. “You failed to stop these bigwigs but are now targeting these small farmers fighting for their survival,” he alleged, urging the Centre to immediately direct the Delhi Police to withdraw the lookout notices.

‘Delhi cops lodging

FIRS without proof’ Amarinder also questioned the Delhi Police decision to name farmer leaders in the FIRS of the Republic Day violence without any evidence against them. “How can you blame all the farmer leaders for the mischief done by a breakaway group or the handiwork of some anti-social elements, who instigated the violence at the Red Fort and other parts of the national capital?” he asked.

Reiterating his demand that the Delhi Police should not use the violence as an excuse to harass farmer leaders, he said that all the prominent leaders named in the FIRS had already distanced themselves for the lawlessness of January 26. Not a single one of them had reportedly been found so far to have made any inflammatory speeches or seen indulging in any provocative acts, he claimed. He also urged the Centre to ensure a free and fair probe into the incidents of January 26 so that the real culprits could be identified and action initiated against them.

‘Javadekar trying to shift Red Fort blame on Cong’ Amarinder hit out at Union minister Prakash Javadekar over his “disgraceful and desperate” attempt to shift the blame for the Red Fort violence on the Congress.

He alleged that the Red Fort violence was evidently instigated by supporters and members of the BJP in collusion with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress was nowhere in the picture. “Workers and supporters of BJP and AAP, and not the Congress, have been caught on camera waving the Nishan Sahib at Red Fort,” he claimed in response to Javadekar’s unfounded allegations against the Congress, and his own government in Punjab.