Deccan Chronicle

KEJRIWAL REVIEWS ARRANGEMEN­TS AT BORDER

- DC CORRESPOND­ENT

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday visited the Singhu border, where thousands of farmers are protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws, and checked arrangemen­ts made for them by the city government.

The visit comes a day after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) extended its support to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmers’ organisati­ons on December 8. Kejriwal was accompanie­d by his cabinet ministers and some party MLAs during the brief visit to the protest venue on the Delhi-Haryana border.

“I checked the arrangemen­ts. We received a lot of pressure to allow the use of stadiums as temporary prisons but we did not give permission and I feel this helped the movement. Since then our party MLAs and ministers have been involved in ensuring that farmers do not face any discomfort,” he said.

“We are working like ‘sewadaar’. Here I have not come as a Chief Minister but as a ‘sewadaar’ to serve the farmers. It is our responsibi­lity to support the farmers,” he told reporters.

On Sunday, Kejriwal had said that all AAP workers across the country will support the nationwide strike and appealed to all citizens to support the farmers. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi against the new farm laws.

The Centre’s offer to amend the contentiou­s laws failed to cut ice with farmer groups during the fifth round of talks on Saturday.

THE VISIT comes a day after the AAP extended its support to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmers’ organisati­ons on December 8. Kejriwal was accompanie­d by his cabinet ministers and some party MLAs during the brief visit to the protest venue on the Delhi-Haryana border.

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