Amid the ongoing farmers’ protest which has disrupted supply of vegetables and milk to the urban areas of the region, a blame-game has ensued between the ruling Bharatiya Janta party and Opposition parties over the issues of farmers.
The BJP on Monday accused the opposition parties of plotting the farmers’ agitation and misleading the farming community while opposition parties—Congress and INlD—have lent their support to the ten-days ‘Gaon Bandh’ protest call by various peasant outfits across Haryana.
The protest began on June 1 and several areas in districts Kaithal, Yamunanagar, Kurukshtra, Hisar and Fatehabad have been affected where farmers are resorting to seizing of trucks and vehicles carrying vegetables and other supplies to the urban areas in Haryana.
Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala while talking to the mediapersons on Monday said that the farmers’ protest is politically motivated. The opposition parties are backing this protest and misleading the farming community, he alleged.
When asked whether the farmers’ outfits are invited for talks by Chief Minister Manohar lal, he said that the State Government is open for talks.
The Chief Minister Manohar lal had reportedly mocked the 10-day farmers' protest by calling it "issue-less".
“Farmers' strike doesn't have any purpose or topic. This protest is unnecessary,” Manohar lal had said two days back.
When asked about Chief Minister’s remark which has attracted sharp criticism from farmers’ outfits as well as opposition parties, Subhash Barala said that the government is sympathetic towards the issues of farmers and ready to hold talks to resolve their problems.
Barala, however, maintained that the ongoing farmers’ protest is politically-motivated and will be exposed in next few days.
While supply of vegetables and milk has been affected in various parts of Haryana and also its capital, Chandigarh, the state BJP chief claimed that there is no affect of protest in Haryana though there are reports of milk supply being hit in Chandigarh.
Barala also attacked Congress and INlD for allegedly misleading the farming community.
On the other hand, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar announced their support to the farmers’ agitation.
Hooda and Tanwar, while speaking on separate occasions, hit out at the BJP led Central and Haryana Governments and demanded implementation of Swaminathan report and loan waiver for farmers.
leader of opposition and INlD’s senior leader Abhay Singh Chautala also announced party’s support to ongoing farmers’ protest. Chautala while talking to the mediapersons here alleged that the BJP has betrayed the farming community by not fulfilling its poll promise of implementation of Swaminathan report.
The farmers are forced to resort to such protests and throw vegetables and milk on roads, said Chautala.
Notably, the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh (RMK), which is leading the protests, had announced that farmers won't supply vegetables and milk to cities for the next ten days, after which the 'Gaon Bandh' will turn into a 'Bharat bandh' on June 10 if their demands are not met.
The farmers are demanding a blanket waiver of farm loans, a minimum support price (MSP) for farm produce, implementation of Swaminathan report among other things.
In neighboring Punjab, the farmer organizations on Monday announced to end the supposed the 10-day long agitation on June 6.