Chandigarh. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday attacked the Centre and asked if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government should “send” the protesting farmers, camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, to Lahore if they do not allow them to enter Delhi.
Led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, Punjab farmers started the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 13 to pressurize the government for their demands, including a legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops. The Haryana Police had placed large cement boulders and barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway to stop them from moving ahead. Since then, these farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
Addressing a rally in poll bound state Haryana, Mann said, “Barriers have been created by placing iron nails and barriers on the border at Khanauri and Shambhu so that farmers cannot enter Delhi. The centre of power is Delhi so they will go there. If they don’t go to Delhi, should I send them to Lahore?”
The Punjab Chief Minister said that even four years ago, farmers were prevented from entering Delhi. He said, “726 farmers had died during the farmers’ protest against the agricultural laws (now repealed).”
Meanwhile, at a function held in Barwala of Hisar, Mann said that the people of Haryana gave a chance to various parties but all of them looted the state. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said, “If a doctor is not able to treat a disease, then the doctor should be changed.” He said that like the voters of Delhi and Punjab, the people of Haryana should also vote for ‘badlaav’ this time.
In his address, Mann made the people aware of various schemes of the state government. Attacking the BJP government at the centre, Mann said that during the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had talked of crossing 400 but now they are running their government with the help of allies.
Mann said, “Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is from Haryana and he has changed the direction of the country’s politics. He had said that if the BJP gets a huge majority, it will change the Constitution. Thankfully, he did not get the majority, otherwise he would have changed the Constitution.”
Tags: Bhagwant Mann, BJP, Farmers movement, Farmers Protest
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 26, 2024, 22:50 IST