Even as thousands of farmers marched towards the national capital Delhi to lodge their protest against the Union government’s newly-enacted farm laws, Punjab and Haryana governments entered into a war of words on microblogging platform Twitter.
Unable to restrict entry of the protesting Punjab farmers into Haryana on their way to Delhi, the BJP-led Haryana government accused the Punjab government of aggravating the problem. Chief Ministers of both the states openly accused each other of ‘worsening the situation’.
Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar engaged in a spat on Twitter. Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh accused Haryana government of forcible attempts to stop the farmers from marching to Delhi in protest against the farm laws implemented by the central government. Haryana CM ML Khattar responded to this by saying that he should "stop inciting farmers".
Capt. Amarider Singh posted on Twitter: "For nearly 2 months farmers have been protesting peacefully in Punjab without any problem. Why is Haryana govt provoking them by resorting to force? Don't the farmers have the right to pass peacefully through a public highway? @mlkhattar"
In another tweet, he wrote: "Urge @BJP4India to direct their state governments not to indulge in such strong-arm tactics against the farmers. The hands that feed the nation deserve to be held, not pushed aside".
Terming it a “sad irony” that on Constitution Day, the constitutional right of farmers to protest was being suppressed, Capt Amarinder Singh also flayed the use of brute force by the Haryana police, which had used water cannons and tear gas in a bid to stop the Punjab farmers from marching through the state and had not allowed farmers from Haryana to move out of their villages in many places.
Responding to this, Khattar posted on Twitter:" @capt_amarinder ji, I’ve said it earlier and I’m saying it again, I’ll leave politics if there’ll be any trouble on the MSP - therefore, please stop inciting innocent farmers.” He also tweeted: “I’ve been trying to reach out to you for the last 3 days but sadly you decided to stay unreachable - is this how serious you are for farmer’s issues? You’re only tweeting and running away from talks. Why?”
“Time for your Lies, Deception and Propaganda is over - let the people see your real face. Please stop putting the lives of people in danger during the Corona pandemic. I urge you to not play with the lives of the people – at least avoid cheap politics during the time of pandemic,” Khattar added.
Meanwhile, the Punjab unit of the Congress also accused the Khattar government of unleashing ‘Nadir Shahi’ terror on the farmers marching peacefully towards Delhi in protest against the new agricultural laws and said that the usage of water cannons equals barbarism.
Castigating the BJP regime in Haryana for this ‘savage action’, Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that the Haryana government has committed hara-kiri and trampled upon the constitutional rights of the farmers on Constitution Day. Taking the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana Dushyant Chautala to task, Randhawa said that by being hand in glove with the Haryana Government, the great grandson of Devi Lal had stabbed the farmers in the back and that they would never forgive him for aligning with ‘anti-farmer forces’.
Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja also flayed the BJP government in Haryana for using force on the farmers who were heading towards Delhi peacefully. She asked the BJP government to come out with laws for the safeguard of peasants instead of lodging them in jails and ‘scratching their scars’.
