Stressing that there was nothing wrong with the demands of the farmers, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately repeal the farm laws in order to resolve the crisis.
Categorically rejecting the reports that Punjab had already implemented the new farm laws, he said that Punjab was the first state to have opposed the Central farm laws and, in fact, passed amendments Bills to negate their impact on agriculture. He said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was spreading misinformation on the issue with their fake propaganda machinery.
The Governor, he said, “should have forwarded our Bills to the President for assent, which he has not done.”
The Chief Minister made it clear that Punjab would not allow the lives of its farmers to be ruined by the new laws. “We will do whatever possible to help the farmers and their families, for whom the state government had already started two helplines on which they could reach out in case of any emergency,” he said.
Urging the Prime Minister to withdraw the laws and talk to the farmers, Captain Amarinder said, “The farmers have made their stand very clear—that the laws should be repealed. It is the job of the Government of India to listen to them.” The Centre can bring in new laws after due consultation with the farmers, he said, pointing out that the Constitution has been amended many times and can be done again for the revocation of the recently enacted farm legislations.
Noting that farmers from across the country had joined the protests against the Farm Laws, Captain Amarinder said after 6-7 meetings, it was time that the matter is resolved and the farmers, who are sitting out in the cold and rains, can go back and everyone else can get on with their lives.
The Chief Minister lambasted those calling the protesting farmers Naxals and terrorists, calling it wrong and irresponsible.