JJP leader Digvijay accuses Congress of misleading farmers, says coalition strong
A day after Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet opposing the controversial farms Bills, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala met Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday in a bid to find a way out of the vexed situation with farmers on the warpath in the State.
Sources said the State Government would reach out to the farmers and their organisations to take the message across that the Bills would actually help their cause.
JJP leader Digvijay Singh Chautala asserted that the party’s coalition with the BJP in Haryana is going strong and accused the Opposition Congress of trying to mislead the farmers. He downplayed reports that there was fissure in the alliance saying the Congress spreads rumours.
Interestingly, JJP had earlier apologised for the lathicharge on farmers in Kurukshetra’s Pipli last week when farmers were protesting against the three farm ordinances promulgated by the Union Government.
Asked if the JJP was facing any pressure in its alliance with the BJP after Harsimrat’s resignation, Digvijay said, “Our tie-up is strong. Our responsibility is to ensure that farmers’ crops are procured as per the MSP and we will ensure this in the upcoming procurement season. The biggest issue is the MSP. It is our commitment to farmers that we will not allow their crops to be procured below the minimum support price.”
Digvijay’s elder brother and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant and Khattar held a meeting in the backdrop of the developments in both Punjab and Haryana where farmers have repeatedly taken to the streets against the farm Bills, which they have dubbed as “anti-farmer”.
They have expressed apprehension that the passage of these Bills would pave the way for the dismantling of the MSP system and leave the farming community at the “mercy” of big corporates.
On the meeting between Khattar and Dushyant, Digvijay said the two held discussions on a range of issues, including the steps to be taken to ensure smooth crop procurement in the upcoming season. The lathicharge on farmers also figured in the discussions, he said without elaborating.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress sought a special session of the Haryana Assembly to discuss the impact and ramifications of the three farm-related Bills passed by the Lok Sabha.
Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said his party will move a resolution against the legislation when the assembly session is convened.
Led by Hooda, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, a delegation of Haryana Congress MLAs submitted a memorandum to Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya. “We request you to recommend to the Union Government not to pursue the Bills recently passed in the Lok Sabha as these are against the interest of millions of small and marginal farmers,” the Congress said in the memorandum.
The Congress said any move to disturb the present procurement system may deepen social unrest amongst farmers of the State. “We urge upon the Government to review and reconsider these measures as these are unlikely to deliver on the promises made to them. Agri-marketing should be left to the states as envisaged in the Constitution,” the party said.
