Ministers in huddle, all eyes on key meet today
NEW DELHI: A day before the resumption of crucial talks, top Union ministers went into a huddle on Wednesday, brainstorming ways to end a protest by farmers who have massed at Delhi’s borders to demand the repeal of three contentious laws aimed at opening up farm trade, as the city’s authorities scrambled to smoothen traffic disrupted by the massive show of strength by cultivators from northern India.
Union home minister Amit Shah, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and railways, food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal met at Shah’s residence on the day a blockade triggered by the farmers’ protest at two key border points connecting Delhi to Haryana entered its sixth day, and the gathering of protesters at the Noida border led to the closure of an arterial road link to Uttar Pradesh.
“(In the previous round of talks) the farmers were confrontational and party leaders are relying on Shah to bring them around,” a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary aware of the discussion among the central ministers said, referring to a dialogue between farm leaders and the government on Tuesday. That meeting could not reach a consensus but the stakeholders agreed to carry forward the dialogue.
As focus shifted to Thursday’s meeting, farm leaders appeared to have hardened their stand, demanding the Centre call a special session of Parliament to repeal the newly enacted farms laws, which they say will adversely impact the minimum support price system (MSP) that offers cultivators assured prices from the government, and eventually help corporate entities.
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday criticised his Punjab counterpart Captain Amarinder Singh for “falsely” accusing him of passing the farm laws in the national Capital and questioned if he is acting at the behest of the BJPled Central government.
Addressing a digital press conference, Kejriwal said all the three farm laws were brought in and implemented by the Central government and that the state governments have no role to play in it. He also appealed to the Centre to accept all demands of the farmers and amend the farm laws to include guarantee of MSP.
“Yesterday, the Punjab CM alleged that I passed these black farm laws in Delhi. How can Amarinder Singh play such lowlevel politics in this fragile situation? The day the President signed the black farm laws, they became effective across the entire country from that day itself,” he said.
The Punjab CM rejected Kejriwal’s assertion, and said it was clear that the AAP leader did not even want to try to fight the “draconian legislations”. “Why did you not stand against the Centre by passing your own state legislations like we did in Punjab?”, Singh asked.
Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which is in the opposition in Punjab — a state where elections are scheduled in 2022, asked if the Punjab chief minister is acting under pressure from the BJP-led Central government.
“You are speaking BJP’s lan
How can Captain play such low-level politics in this fragile situation? The day President signed the farm laws, they became effective across the entire country. ARVIND KEJRIWAL, Delhi chief minister
Why did you not stand against the Centre by passing your own state legislations like we did in Punjab? You are indulging in brazen double-speak. AMARINDER SINGH, Punjab chief minister
guage. Are you forging a friendship with the BJP or is there some kind of pressure on you because the enforcement directorate (ED) has filed a case against your family members and sent notices to them?” Kejriwal said. The Punjab CM hit back at his Delhi counterpart, accusing him of stooping to low level politics and indulging in brazen double-speak.
Delhi CM stabbed farmers in back: Sukhbir
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal accused Arvind Kejriwal of stabbing the beleaguered farmers in the back with implementation of the three agriculture laws.
“This is not just political dishonesty in the extreme but also but an inhuman betrayal of the simple-hearted and trusting farmers,” said Sukhbir in a press statement. He said the farmers were shocked to learn that Kejriwal even issued a gazette notification on November 23, the SAD chief said.
“Even a crocodile would have a thing or two to learn from Kejriwal about how to shed fake tears. In fact, the idiom about crocodile tears will have to be changed now to “Kejriwal tears”,” he added.