With the farmers’ agitation against the Central farm laws at the Delhi’s borders set to complete two months with no resolution in sight, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday announced jobs for one member of each of the families of the state’s farmers who had lost their lives in the ongoing struggle.
At the same time, he slammed the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for spreading lies over the farm laws, while dubbing the Centre’s refusal to repeal them as ‘inhuman’.
Capt Amarinder also questioned the Centre on why was it hesitating to repeal the laws. “They should repeal the laws, then sit with the farmers and frame new laws after taking all stakeholders in confidence,” he suggested during the 20th edition of his Facebook Live #AskCaptain session.
Pointing out that the Constitution of India had already been amended so many times, the Chief Minister asked why the Government of India was adamant about not taking back the farm laws.
Hitting out at the Central Government for pushing the laws through the Parliament with brute majority “without any discussion”, the Chief Minister said that the entire country was paying the price for this. “Is there a Constitution in the country? Agriculture is a state subject under Schedule 7, so why has the Centre interfered with a state subject?” he asked, adding that “they went and enacted these laws without consulting anyone, because of which we have all landed in this situation”.
Barely were things coming back to normal after the lockdown, when the entire industry had shut down operations, when the farm laws were imposed, he said, adding that the legislations had been implemented by the Centre without any thought to the impact it would have on the farmers and agriculture.
Asserting that “we are with the farmers and will stand by them”, the Chief Minister said that the Punjab Government and every person in Punjab stands with the farmers.
“All Punjabis are concerned about our farmers sitting on Delhi borders, they are there to persuade the Centre to repeal laws that were implemented without taking us into confidence,” he said, adding that “lots of old people are sitting there at the borders not for themselves but for the future of their children and grandchildren”.
“The sad part is that we are losing our farmers to the cold every day, with an estimated farmers 76 dying so far,” he underlined adding that in addition to the Rs five lakh compensation being given to the families of the deceased farmers, the State Government would also give a job to a family member.
Capt Amarinder agreed with a Tarn Taran-resident that the Centre was being arrogant and was not thinking about the impact of the farm laws on the farmers. “You should ask the Central Government if India is not a democracy anymore?” he said, in response to the resident’s question as to whether democracy no longer exists in this country.
“It is against humanity,” said the Chief Minister, agreeing that when the farmers for whom the laws are made don’t want them, then why can’ they be repealed.
Stressing that representatives of almost all farm unions from across the country were sitting at the Delhi borders, the Chief Minister said that the agitation was of the entire nation’s farmers and not just of Punjab’s farmers.
ON NIA NOTICES: ‘WILL WRITE TO SHAH SOON’
On the NIA notices to some farmers and supporters of the farmer agitation, the Chief Minister said that it was a wrong step and he would be writing soon to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue. “Even Khalsa Aid, which was working across the globe, has not been spared,” he said, adding that “Punjabiyon nu pyaar naal manao te man lenge...tussi dang chakoge, o vi dang chuk len ge.” (If you talk to Punjabis nicely and persuade them, they will agree to your suggestions, but if you pick up a stick they too would pick one).