New Delhi: The Congress on Friday condemned the police action on farmers protesting at Shambhu border and urged the government to fulfil its promises made to them on providing legal guarantee to minimum support price on crops and other demands.
The party also hit out at the Haryana government, alleging it was creating impediments and committing brutality on peaceful farmers wanting to proceed to Delhi to remind the government of its promise.
Chairman of the All India Kisan Congress Sukhpal Singh Khaira said at a press conference that the Centre should consider their legitimate demands.
He also demanded that the government withdraw all criminal cases against the farmers booked during the last agitation two years ago and adequate compensation be paid to families of all those 700 farmers who lost their lives during the year-long agitation at Delhi’s borders.
He showed pictures of injured farmers in Shambhu border due to tear gas shells and rubber bullets lobbed at them by Haryana Police, claiming over 100 of them have been injured.
Khaira claimed this agitation saw its first death in 63-year-old Gian Singh of Gurdaspur who died last night, as he could not bear the “high handedness” of the government. He died of heart attack at Shambhu.
Khaira demanded a government job for a member of Singh’s family and compensation.
Condemning the blockade imposed by the Haryana government to prevent the farmers from reaching Delhi, he pointed out that farmers have always resorted to peaceful measures during their agitation.
“They (the authorities) have created a border within our own country. This is highly condemnable. We condemn the use of force against farmers who are protesting for their rightful demands,” he said.
“Should no one held accountable for the brutality by police against farmers,” he also asked, adding, “We demand that MSP should be given legal right and provide loan waiver to them.”
“Farmers cannot be sesssionists as they die for the country and their sons are defending the government,” the farm leader noted.
Urging the government to accept the demands of farmers, he said everything is in the domain of the Centre and we appeal to them to resolve the matter at the earliest.
“But, the intentions of the BJP are not clear and they do not want to help the farmers as the agri sector and farmers are being ignored for a long time by it,” he alleged.
Khaira further alleged that Haryana Police has intruded into Punjab territory in violation of laws and lobbed teargas shells on farmers using drones. He said these are farmers who provide foodgrains to fill the stomach of Indians and their children are defending the borders for the country.
He charged that the government was only trying to buy time without giving anything concrete. He pointed out, even now the group of ministers was only assuring of setting up some committee or commission.
The Congress leader said M S Swaminathan has been given Bharat Ratna by the government, but none of the recommendations made by him in his report have been accepted.
He reiterated the commitment of Congress that legal guarantee for MSP will be one of its important issues during general elections and will be implemented if his party’s government is formed at the Centre.
He claimed that agriculture is running into losses in three countries – India, Argentina and Vietnam but the governments in Vietnam and Argentina have taken steps to take the burden of farmers.
