CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday said that Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh should stop his dangerous efforts to sabotage the farmers’ agitation by linking it with threats to national security.
The Akali Dal leader asked the CM to share with the people the specific grounds or intelligence on the basis of which he had suddenly woken up to the threat to national security and that too when the farmers battle of life and death has reached a crucial stage.
In a statement here, Sukhbir said, “Amarinder is clearly dancing to someone else’s tune to paint the farmers as national security risk. His so-called warning on national security comes immediately after his suspicious meeting with a powerful Union minister. Does he think that the farmers and others in the country can’t see through his conspiratorial role against them?”
Sukhbir said that instead of telling the government to address the farmers’ genuine apprehensions and grievances, Amarinder has chosen to warn the poor farmers against continuing with their peaceful, democratic agitation. “At the same time, he has tried to set the whole country against the farmers cause. This is clearly a part of centre’s design to use him to weaken support for the farmers,” said the Akali leader
He said that there is a pattern in Capt Amarinder’s role. Whenever something good for Punjabis in general and the Sikhs in particular is about to happen, the Punjab CM immediately gets restless and plays the national security card as an excuse to try to sabotage it, he said.
“He had done exactly the same thing to sabotage Sri Kartarpur Sahib corridor. Fortunately, the great Guru Sahiban did not allow his conspiracies to succeed. Even here, he is running against the Guru Sahiban’s message in favour of the poor and the oppressed farmers. The CM is backing the oppressor, misusing the national security card to vilify and weaken the farmers’ movement,” said Sukhbir.
The SAD president said that the poor farmers had been protesting in Punjab for months before they took their battle to Delhi. In all these months, neither a flower vase was broken by farmers, nor a single incident indicating threat to security. On the contrary, said Badal, the farmers had been setting noble and glorious examples as they have braved vicious police assaults against them with commendable restraint and magnanimity, even serving langar to their oppressors.