Chandigarh, September 21, 2021 (Yes Punjab News)
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked senior farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal to keep the Kisan Andolan above politics and requested him to take concrete action against hooligans who had targeted Akali workers proceeding to Delhi to participate in the party’s march to parliament instead of attacking the SAD.
Addressing a press conference here, senior SAD leader Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said it was most unfortunate that even after admitting that some wrong elements wanted to defame the Kisan Sangharsh, the Kisan leader had neither secured an unconditional apology from those guilty of hooliganism nor subjected them to the process of law.
Prof Chandumajra and Mr Grewal also took objection to Mr Rajewal’s statement that only SAD legislators and MPs should have gone to protest in Delhi. “We fail to understand what objection he has to a protest by thousands of people. Earlier also thousands of farmers marched to parliament which sent out a message of unity and strength attracting worldwide attention”.
Asserting that the SAD held Rajewal in high esteem, the SAD leaders said “Mr Rajewal however should not lower his dignity by making political statements. We are ready to debate political issues separately and the Kisan forum should not be used for the same”.
They also highlighted how the speeches made by former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal in parliament were a matter of public record and that Mrs Badal was the lone central minister in the history of the State to resign from the ministry in support of the farming community.
Meanwhile Dr Cheema rebutted the assertion of Rajewal that the SAD was defaming the Kisan Andolan by releasing videos. “In fact the videos showing Akali leaders and even women being abused, intimidated and even robbed besides the damage done to their vehicles have been posted by the perpetrators and not the victims”.
He also asked if Rajewal had taken notice of this criminal activity and why he did not inform the people of the action by him and the Kisan unions in the case. Dr Cheeema also said it was unfortunate that Rajewal had chosen to politicize the issue and also paint the SAD, which had resigned from the union ministry and even quit the NDA, in poor light. “He has however chosen to remain silent on the Congress party’s role in framing of the ordinances as well as amendments done in the APMC Act by the Congress government in 2017.
The SAD leaders also made it clear that the protest organized by it on September 17 was aimed at strengthening the Kisan Andolan and said Rajewal should have appreciated this step.
They said the party had also made it clear during the protest that it was committed to repeal of the three agriculture laws, making msp a legal right and ensuring assured government procurement of all major crops. “All slogans raised in the Delhi protest pertained to these three demands only and we will continue to raise these demands till they are not accepted”, they added.
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