BJP intensifies verbal attack on farmers' agitation

| | Chandigarh
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BJP intensifies verbal attack on farmers' agitation

Wednesday, 23 June 2021 | Nishu Mahajan | Chandigarh

With the farmers' agitation against the three contentious farm laws snowballing into a biggest crisis for the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Haryana state party chief OP Dhankar on Tuesday termed the protest “purely political”, hinting at its direct connection with the 2022 State Assembly Polls in neighboring Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

“This protest is purely political now and has lost its credibility... The government had offered to put on hold the farm laws for one-and-a-half-year and it was the biggest victory for this agitation. But due to the political aspirations of some people... of those with a red flag (communist symbol), this agitation has continued for a longer period of time,” said Dhankar while talking to the mediapersons here on the issue of ongoing farmers' protest.

While refraining from directly mentioning the 2022 State Assembly polls in two neighboring states, Dhankar said that this protest has turned political now. The Court had already stayed the implementation of three laws but the protest continued. We know each and everyone who comes to hold protest at our programmes. They all are associated with political parties... Congressmen come for the protest, he alleged.

Dhankar's diatribe came just a few days ahead of proposed farmers' protest at Governor houses across the country on June 26 to mark the completion of seven months of their agitation.

In the recent past, several BJP and JJP leaders have intensified their verbal attack on farmers' leaders alleging that the agitation has turned political and has a different agenda now. The ruling MLAs have also accused the opposition parties of provoking the farmers and building up the issue ahead of state assembly polls in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in 2022.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three border points of Delhi – Singhu, Tikri (along Haryana), and Ghazipur (alongUttar Pradesh)-- demanding a repeal of the three farm laws enacted by the Centre in September last year

The farmers are protesting against 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.

The farmers' protests have unarguably become the biggest challenge for the ruling BJP Government at the Centre ahead of the assembly polls in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh due early next year.

The protesting farmers have been opposing public programmes of the BJP and its ally Jannayak Janata Party in Haryana over the farm laws issue. In the last one month, the farmers have held protests at events of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Singh Chautala, Cabinet Ministers and MLAs of BJP and JJP.

When asked about the disruptions caused in the party's events due to farmers' protest, Dhankar said the party will continue all its programmes as per the schedule. We will hold plantation drive to plant one lakh saplings starting Wednesday and will prepare 16000 volunteers upto ward level to tackle the third wave of COVID-19 in Haryana, he said.

Commenting on the recent incidents related to a man set on fire by four people allegedly related to farmers protest, cases of rape and harrasment of women at the protest site, the state BJP chief said that such incidents have reduced the credibility and respect of the agitation.

Notably, the Chief Minister had last week met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apprize him about the current situation related to farmers' agitation.

After the meeting, Khattar had said that inappropriate incidents, especially against women, are very worrying at the agitation. These incidents are being opposed locally as well. Haryana Government will not allow law and order to deteriorate under any circumstances, he had said.

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