Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has stated that that the farmers’ agitation cannot go on indefinitely and like every war has to end one day, this too would have to reach a conclusion. His prescription is that the Centre must not sit on ego and resolve the issue amicably, keeping in mind the wide-ranging ramifications the stir can have on internal security. Pakistan has stepped up its attempts to air drop weapons through drones and its aim is clearly to create some sort of disturbance in Punjab as it has been doing in Kashmir. The number of drones that may have been deployed by Islamabad may be very large and this was the reason he recently had a meeting with the Union Home Minister to apprise him of the situation. Pakistan’s objective is to somehow make the weapons reach the sleeper cells of outfits financed by it. However, there are not sufficient youngsters it can easily recruit for this purpose. But, if the disenchantment amongst young people sitting on dharnas in various parts of the states and on Delhi borders increases, there could be some misguided people who may become tools in this nefarious game.
The Captain believes that the government has over-reacted in dealing with both Greta Thunberg and Disha Ravi. What can an 18-year-old activist know about the arthiya system in Punjab? In fact, the Punjab farmers can teach the Swede a thing or two about farming. None of the farmers may have ever heard of Greta but by over-reacting, the government has made the world take notice of the agitation. He wondered why similar action had not been initiated against MPs and public representatives espousing the farmers’ issue in the UK and other countries. The Punjab CM has cautioned that there should be no undue provocation that could be counter-productive. For instance, there are farmers sitting on rail tracks. His administration has not removed even a single person and only got the trains diverted. If they were to be physically evicted, thousands would start gathering. This is how the Punjabi temperament is. The veteran leader made it abundantly clear that the agitation was being led by farmer unions only and it is they who would have to take a call on what transpires during the negotiations with the Centre.
The Union government has offered to put the farm laws in abeyance for 18 months. A section of farmers are demanding that they should be repealed or at least put on hold for three years. What ultimately happens is to be seen. The harvesting of wheat may begin in one month’s time. Overall, the insightful interview of the Captain published in the Sunday edition of a prominent daily provides a knowledgeable perspective, though some points appear to give an erroneous picture which the CM office has sought to flag. Significantly, the interview has appeared after the resounding victory of the Congress in the municipal elections which also saw the Akalis and the BJP being relegated to irrelevance. By being on different sides of the political fence, the Akalis and the BJP have hurt their chances in the state and it is unlikely that they may recover lost ground very easily. As things stand today, the Captain is the numero uno leader of the state and this status could continue till next year’s Assembly polls.