MK Stalin, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), criticized the central government on Thursday referring to the capital as a warzone for the high-level security deployments in Delhi to counter the Punjab farmers’ protests.
CM Stalin unleashed an assault on the Centre in a letter sent to DMK cadres on the ‘Urimaigalai Meetka Stalinin Kural’ (Stalin voice to restore rights) campaign, which is set to take place across 40 constituencies from February 16 to 18.
“Why this much arrangement of security in Delhi like a warzone? To silence the protest of our nation’s farmers Union BJP Government has created a situation worse than a warzone,” CM Stalin stated in the letter.
“After strong protests from farmers for more than 1 year BJP withdrew three farm laws. But they didn’t announce schemes for the welfare of the well-being of farmers. They didn’t withdraw the case against farmers. The government is doing atrocities by deploying the Police Force with weapons, roads were filled with barbed wire, jersey barriers and iron nails. Who is the terrorist here…Farmers? Government?,” Stalin said.
Stalin also criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for their policies, claiming that they were detrimental to “people’s welfare” in the letter.
“When the BJP introduced the three farm laws, DMK opposed that but AIADMK supported that and even AIADMK supports CAA. AIADMK was an accomplice in all BJP’s sins to Tamil Nadu. Cadres you have to expose these two parties to the people,” he added.
The ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by Punjab farmers against the federal government entered its third day on Thursday.
A meeting of farmer unions and the central government is scheduled for today at 5 p.m. to address the issues.
The farmers have presented 12 demands to the central government, for which they are marching to Delhi. This time, the demonstration has been called by the non-political Sanyukt Kisan Morcha and the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, which is led by farmer union leaders Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher.
According to the protesting farmers, the Centre guaranteed them higher crop prices, therefore they halted their 2021 protest. They want a law that guarantees a minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, as outlined in the Swaminathan Commission report.
They also want a comprehensive debt waiver and a system to pay pensions to farmers and farm workers.