Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder on Monday appealed to the Kisan Unions to completely lift their rail blockade to allow passenger trains also to ply in the
State, in view of the initiative taken by the Central Government to discuss the issue of the farm laws.
The Chief Minister has urged the farmer organisations to take note of the Centre’s move to hold talks with them, and also take into account the inconvenience being caused to lakhs of Punjabis, including soldiers, who were unable to come home for Diwali festivity due to the suspension of train movement in the State.
Ending the rail blockade would facilitate these soldiers and others to join their families in the celebrations, he said.
Capt Amarinder expressed the hope that the talks convened by the Central Government, scheduled for November 13 as per media reports, would pave the way for early resolution of the crisis triggered by the central legislations on agriculture.The move indicated that the Centre was open to finding an amicable solution to the problems facing the farmers in the wake of the enactment of these laws, he said.
The farmers’ anger had clearly reached the Central Government, which seemed to be finally prepared to hear them out, said the Chief Minister. “Now that the message that they wanted to communicate through their blockade had reached the Centre, the unions should step back from their agitation and join the talks with the spirit of resolving the issue,” he said.
Pointing out that the State Government had stood with the farmers in the fight against the farm laws despite the massive economic and other problems caused to the State and its people, Capt Amarinder said that he was confident that the unions would now respond by supporting its efforts to ease the situation in the larger interest of all stakeholders.
“The only solution to the imbroglio caused by the central legislations lay in peaceful and amicable talks between all concerned,” he said, urging the farmer unions to respond with a positive approach.
The Chief Minister, however, assured the Unions that his Government would not allow the interests of the farmers to be compromised at any cost, as these were linked inexorably to the interests of the state. The State Government would continue to extent whatever support is needed by the farmers to resolve the crisis, he added.
STOP FUELING FARMERS ANGER, CAPT TO BJP
Dubbing as totally irrational and illogical the Railways’ decision to link movement of goods trains in the State with passenger trains, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said that by defending the decision, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was further fuelling the fire of anger among the farmers, who had shown more concern for the citizens than the party was doing.
Rejecting outright the BJP state unit president Ashwani Sharma allegation of ‘arm-twisting’ the Centre, the Chief Minister said that it was the BJP leadership that was inciting the farmers with its anti-Punjab stance on the issue. “Instead of questioning the Railways and supporting the State Government in persuading the Centre to allow freight trains to ply, the BJP leadership continued to indulge in dirty politics at the cost of the welfare of the people of Punjab and neighbouring states,” he said.
“What’s worse is that the BJP is not even concerned about our soldiers in Ladakh and Kashmir who are waiting desperately for critical supplies before the onset of snow, which would block them off completely from the rest of the country for the winter months,” he added.On Sharma’s accusation that the State Government had failed to dissuade protestors from blocking train services, the Chief Minister said that it was Congress-led Punjab Government which had convinced the farmers to ease their blockade to let essential supplies come in.
“Even now, several of the Cabinet Ministers were engaged with Kisan Unions to push for complete lifting of the blockade to allow even passenger movement,” he said, adding that it was in the State Government’s interest to do so since it was responsible for the people of the State.
Capt Amarinder said that there is absolutely no logic in linking the movement of goods and passenger trains, which the Railways is doing as a patent excuse to continue with the suspension of freight services. “Passengers, wanting to come to Punjab, could easily travel by train to stations in nearby states, such as Ambala in Haryana and Chandigarh, from where they could go by roads to their destinations in Punjab in a matter of a few hours,” he pointed out adding that this was not an option for freight movement.
“If the people of Punjab, including its farmers, continued to be deprived of their essential needs in this manner, the situation could aggravate,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the adamant stand of the Railways, which the BJP was vehemently endorsing, suggested lack of intent to resolve the imbroglio on the goods trains issue. “Why else would the Railways be taking refuge in one excuse after another to continue to suspend the services in Punjab, especially after the farmers had cleared all tracks for freight movement and I had personally guaranteed full safety to the goods trains even though Railway security rested with GRP?” he asked.
“And why else would the BJP support the Railways’ unreasonable decision and continue to perpetuate lies on the entire issue,” he further quipped.
Instead of trying to instigate the State Government to crackdown on the farmers, Sharma should work with it in the interest of the common man, the business and trading community, the farmers and the industry, whose welfare he claims to be concerned about, said the Chief Minister.