MOHALI: Even as he ridiculed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal as a big fraud, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday said both Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were a bunch of hypocrites whose double standards on the farm laws had exposed their lack of commitment to the farmers.
“AAP and SAD MLAs never say what they mean, and vice versa,” said the Chief Minister in an informal interaction with the media here after the launch of the second phase of Punjab Smart Connect Scheme.
When his government passed Bills in the Vidhan Sabha to negate the Centre’s black farm laws, both AAP and SAD MLAs extended support, but then both the parties changed their tune to suit their political interests, said Captain Amarinder. “And now, in a bid to exploit the farmers’ agitation, they have again done a U-turn on the issue and are projecting themselves as the messiahs of the farmers, whose interests both parties had been instrumental in pawning off to the BJP,” he quipped.
The Chief Minister pointed out that while SAD was party to the introduction of the farm ordinances in the first place, the AAP government in Delhi had been quick to implement one of the draconian laws.
Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Captain Amarinder said the AAP leader had given approval to the farm laws by notifying one of them in the national capital last month and was now indulging in petty politics over the matter by tearing copies of the central laws. “This shows Kejriwal and AAP have a different face for the people, with totally contrarian intentions hidden inside,” said the Chief Minister.