Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday attacked the Centre, asking if the BJP-led government will not allow the protesting farmers camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border to enter Delhi, should he “send them to Lahore”.
Farmers from Punjab, led by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), began the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 13 to press the government to accept their demands which include that the Centre should give a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
They were stopped by the Haryana Police, which had set up barricades, including cemented blocks, on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway. The farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since then.
“At Khanauri and Shambhu, the border has been fortified with iron nails and barricading so that farmers cannot enter Delhi. The government runs from Delhi so they will go there. If they will not go to Delhi, should I send them to Lahore?” Mr Mann said, while addressing a public meeting in poll-bound Haryana.
The chief minister addressed two rallies — one in Hisar’s Barwala and the other in Sirsa’s Dabwali. Haryana goes to polls later this year and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said it will contest on all the 90 seats.
At the Barwala event, the chief minister said even four years ago, the farmers were stopped from entering Delhi.
“As many as 726 farmers died during the farmers’ protest against the now repealed farm laws when they were stopped earlier,” he added.
Mr Mann alleged that people of Haryana gave chance to different parties but they all looted the state.
“If a doctor is not able to cure an ailment then the doctor should be changed,” the AAP leader said, adding that like Delhi and Punjab voters, people of Haryana should also “vote for ‘badlav’ (change) this time”.
Mr Mann touched upon several initiatives of the AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi.
In Punjab, 43,000 government jobs have been given purely on merit basis, the chief minister claimed.
“There have been paper leak incidents in Haryana but in Punjab, you will not hear such things,” Mr Mann added.
He said Punjab and Haryana are brothers.
“We may have become separate states but our hearts are one,” Mr Mann said.
“We are giving 600 units of free electricity to everyone per billing cycle of two months in Punjab,” he said.
Mr Mann said the AAP government in Delhi has reformed the government schools.
“Children of poor families are cracking top competitive exams in Delhi now,” he said.
“We have taken the government to people’s doorsteps to facilitate them and make their lives better,” Mr Mann said.
He urged the people of Haryana not to be carried away by the promises being made by the BJP and the Congress.
“Earlier, they (BJP and Congress) used to rule by turns and people had no other option, but now they have an alternative in the AAP,” Mr Mann said.
“The BJP has been in power for 10 years. Did they give you any job or did they undertake development?” he asked, while addressing the gathering.
“I am told if it rains for one minute in Barwala, people have to take out boats. Such is the situation,” Mann said.
Attacking the BJP government at the Centre, he said during the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP talked of “400 paar” but now they are running their government with the support of allies.
“Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal belongs to Haryana and he changed the direction of the country’s politics. He had said the BJP will change the Constitution if they get overwhelming majority. Thankfully, they did not get majority, otherwise they would have changed the Constitution,” Mr Mann said.
Meanwhile, at Dabwali, Mr Mann told the gathering that with nearly three months to go for the Haryana polls, the BJP will give “lollipops”.
“They gave this lollipop during the Lok Sabha elections also, when they claimed to have reduced cooking gas cylinder price after hiking it manifold. Be wary of their lollipops,” Mr Mann said.
Further taking a dig at the BJP, he said, “They keeping about double-engine (government). Then they changed one engine midway replacing (Manohar Lal) Khattar. Was the engine defective or what happened? Now, they brought another engine.” He told the people of Haryana that the country does not need double engine but it needs a new engine.
“Only one engine is sufficient. Otherwise you may have five engines but what will they do if they are not good?” said Mr Mann.
He also talked about several initiatives of his government in Punjab taken for the welfare of various sections.
