The Congress spokesperson Prof Gourav Vallabh on Saturday slammed the attempts to disrupt the peaceful farmers’ protest and said that the autocratic nature of the government has again come to the fore. While on one hand, our annadatas are staging peaceful protests against the three black farm laws, the government is resorting to all dirty tricks: saam, daam, dand bhed to ensure the farmers don’t get their due rights.

The recent development shows that there was a plan to cause a violent disruption during the farmers’ rally on January 26. As per the statements by the alleged perpetrator, the plan was to stage a violent action by the farmers and provide a free hand to the Police to launch an onslaught against the farmers. People were sent in to mingle with the farmers and cause disruption during the rally. Four farmer leaders were to be attacked in the staged onslaught by the Police.

With the alleged perpetrator caught and having admitted to the plan, this is a new low in the Indian Democracy. Who doesn’t want the farmers rally to be successful? Who wants to shut down the voice of the farmers, asked the Congress spokesperson.

Expressing his shock over Haryana Police circulating a video of the perpetrator online in which the person denies any such involvement, he said that it all makes the Haryana Police lose its credibility.The Haryana CM is proclaiming that the police are investigating, whereas the Haryana Police is releasing the video of the alleged perpetrator. It all looks so contradictory, he said.

Prof Vallabh raised three questions in this regard:

1. Who is behind this sinister conspiracy of disrupting the peaceful farmer protests and attacking them?

2. What is the motive of Haryana Police to be broadcasting the statement of an alleged perpetrator online? What is the Haryana Government and the Haryana Police trying to cover?

3. When agencies such as NIA are being employed to target farmers, should the government not proactively launch an investigation to find the real culprits who don’t want the farmers rally to be successful and who want to shut down the voice of the farmers? Who wants to convert this peaceful protest into a violent one?

On a question about enquiry into the recent developments in farmers’ agitation in Haryana, Prof Gourav Vallabh said, “can we expect a fair investigation from the Haryana Government, where the Chief Minister is saying something and the viral video is something else? Can we expect a fair and justified investigation from Haryana Government, when the alleged perpetrator, his video under the police custody is becoming viral? Had you seen any investigation by police anywhere in the world, where the investigation is online, investigation is live? Had you seen live investigation? This does not happen even in Hindi films!”

“The entire country is with the farmers. We are expecting that the name of the people behind the entire conspiracy will come out only when there will be a fair investigation. Can we expect a fair investigation under the leadership of Mr Khattar, who had tried to defame this particular entire protest, who had tried to destroy this entire protest, who had tried to divide this entire protest?”

That is why, we are demanding that Chief Minister (of Haryana) should resign immediately and the entire Government should be dismissed immediately, so that the entire country should know who was the person, who was instructing, who was giving instructions to this alleged perpetrator”, Prof Gourav Vallabh added.