The Congress on Wednesday launched a scathing attack at the BJP-led government in Haryana over the lathi-charge on the farmers, who were protesting in Kurukshetra against state government accusing it of not buying sun flower seeds at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), and termed it “anti-farmer”.
“BJP’s ‘anti-farmer’ attitude is coming to the fore again and again. Sometimes farmers are attacked by ‘black farm laws’, and sometimes they are attacked directly as happened in Kurukshetra,” Congress general secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh wrote in a tweet in Hindi, attacking the BJP government.
He added, “We strongly condemn the lathi-charge on the farmers who were protesting peacefully. The government should fulfill their demand for MSP and try to brutally supress their voice.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, Congress MP Deepender Hooda said, “BJP has shown its ‘anti-farmer’ face once again in Shahbad, Kurukshetra. It is clear that this government is neither for the farmers, nor for jawans, nor for wrestlers…. it’s only for the rich. “
“The farmers were only demanding that their sunflower crop should be purchased at the government declared MSP. Yesterday’s lathi-charge at Shahbad symbolises government’s ‘betrayal’ to the farmers’ movement. It also symbolises the anti-farmer face of BJP and the Haryana government’s tyranny,” the MP said at a press conference at the Congress headquarters.
There is no section in Haryana today against which force has not been used by the government, he alleged.
“We demand that sunflower should immediately be purchased at MSP, not only in Haryana but in all parts of India. We demand that all farmers arrested yesterday should be released. The government should financially help those who are critically injured. And we also demand that legal guarantee to MSP should be given immediately,” Hooda said.
Attacking the BJP-led government at the Centre, the MP said, “The government is breaking its own records of breaking promises. Earlier, it promised doubling of farmers’ income by 2022 but did not fulfil it. Now, the legal guarantee to MSP is not being given despite promise.”
