New Delhi: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker’s query at a party meeting in Haryana on Monday created a row as he asked senior leaders for a “formula” to “mislead the protesting farmers” over the farm laws because “they are in no mood” to listen to arguments in support of the contentious Acts, NDTV reported.
The party meeting was held in Gurgaon and attended by O.P. Dhankar, the president of the BJP’s state unit, sports minister Sandeep Singh and Hisar MP Brijendra Singh, NDTV reported.
The meeting was recorded on camera, and the clip was shared online and flagged by Congress’s Randeep Surjewala. The BJP worker asked: “Respected president ji, this is not correct. They are not understanding. We try to make them [protesting farmers] understand, but they have to be misguided, give us some mantras to misguide them (Ye apri baat sahi nahi hain. Samaj na kone. Manne samjhane ki koshish kartein hain. Behkaane padhenge ji, behkaane padhenge, 2-4 mantra aur dedo behkaawa).”
“BJP workers are meeting party leaders and ministers, and asking them for “tips to fool farmers”. They are clearly saying that the farmers cannot be swayed by our arguments and must be fooled. This is the real face of the BJP that it doesn’t show to the farmers,” Surjewala tweeted.However, no clip or video of the answer to this question was shared on social media.
This viral clip comes against the backdrop of the ruling party’s aim to come out with their own political “toolkit” on farm laws as part of a political campaign in states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. This is to ensure that the farmers’ protests don’t impact political outcomes.
It has been almost three months since farmers have been protesting on the outskirts of the national capital against the three farm laws. They have demanded a repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP). However, even after the 11th round of talks between the protesters and the Centre, the latter is not willing to legally guarantee the MSP, but instead give it as a written assurance.
From a chakka jam (road block) to rail roko, farmers have been protesting in different forms and have said they will not return home until their demands are met. On the other hand, the Centre has not accepted their core demands and has blamed the opposition of misleading farmers on these laws for political gain.
