Bathinda, March 7, 2021 (Yes Punjab News)
Slamming the BJP, SAD and the Congress on the issue pertaining to three anti-farmer black laws, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab president and MP Bhagwant Mann said that these parties had betrayed the farmers of Punjab by playing tricks and doing drama of being pro-farmer.
Addressing a press conference convened in Bathinda on Sunday, Bhagwant Mann said that all three parties of this state had jeopardised the lives of the farmers. He said that they had taken every step to ruin the farmer’s lives in the state.
Mann said that in 2013, all the three parties – Congress, SAD and BJP unanimously passed the Contract Farming Act, which made the farmers of Punjab bonded labour to corporate giants. He said that in 2017, when Captain Amarinder Singh came to power, he did not repeal this Act.
“Moreover, he passed the APMC Amendment Act 2017 which privatised the fruit and vegetable market, whose effects are still being seen. Kinoo are being sold below the production cost at Abohar,” he added. Mann said that these two laws that were passed by these conventional parties had become the basis of the black farm laws.
He said that now that the farmers were protesting against it, these parties were involving themselves in theatrics and trying to show the people that they are pro-farmer. “Every step that these parties have taken point to the fact that they have always been trying to derail the farmer protest,” added Mann.
Taking further dig at the three parties, Mann said that the Akali Dal along with the BJP was propagating for months that the black farm laws are beneficial to the farmers. The Congress, on the other hand, did not protest these laws when it was proposed in the High Powered Committee, although Captain Amarinder Singh was part of the committee.
“Moreover, Captain Amarinder neither met Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor did he mention the farm laws to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, when he went to meet him. In fact he asked the farmers to accept the proposal given by the central government, which itself exposes his intentions and propaganda” said Mann.
He said that the Aam Aadmi Party had always stood for the farmers of Punjab. “We were the first party to object to the black farm laws. We were the first party to support the farmer’s march to Delhi and to participate in the movement,” he added.
Mann said that the AAP’s Delhi government was the only government that provided services to the protesting farmers to make their agitation stronger. He said that continuing on the same path; the Aam Aadmi Party now aims to make the agitation stronger through Punjab.
“AAP is organising a Kisan Maha Sammelan on March 21, to give voice to the agitating farmers, to make the people aware that no matter what, the farmer agitation would not be weakened,” he added.
Mann is also visiting villages in Punjab since the last few days to appeal to the people to join the AAP’s Kisan Maha Sammelan to be held at Bagha Purana. He appealed to the people to make it a big show so that the message of the farmers reaches far and wide.
