Soon, protesters will pay for damages: CM
NEW DELHI: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said his government is planning to bring a law under which protesters will have to pay for the damage to public properties during any protest.
Khattar made the statement on the sidelines of his meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah. “We talked about party matters. We also talked about the farmers’ protest and I gave the Home Minister all the information that I had about dharnas and Kisan Maha Panchayats in the state,” he said.
Asked about his government’s proposed law against protestors, Haryana CM said, “No, we have not talked about the laws. We have been planning to bring this law even before the farmers’ movement started. Once Supreme Court in its decision had said that nobody had the right to vandalise public property, and we are bringing a law under which people have to pay for damage to public property.”
For nearly three months, farm unions have camped outside Delhi demanding repeal of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, which farmers say favour big corporations. The Centre has refuted the concerns, and offered to put the laws on hold for 18 months, but talks are currently locked in a stalemate.
Reiterating the Centre’s stand, Khattar said the three laws are for the benefit of farmers and will give a boost to the agricultural sector. Some people are protesting just for the “sake of protest” and it shows their “vested political intent”, the chief minister said according to the statement.
However, if through a positive dialogue, any amendment to these laws is required, the Centre is ready for it, the CM said, adding that he is hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon.