Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that Amarinder Singh is blaming the farmers for the economic mess.
Former union minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday said that Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh's "ill-tempered rant" against her proves that he is rattled after being told not to demonise the peaceful and patriotic farmers of Punjab.
"The chief minister is bending over backwards to dance to the tunes of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just because that party had bailed him out of his intra-party crisis by using the threat of central agencies against the Congress MLAs who had rebelled against him. The whole world knows that Captain Amarinder Singh is BJP's "swatantar fauji" in the Congress and that he is doing everything to keep his real bosses happy," Ms Badal said.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader was commenting on what she called the outbursts of an embarrassed chief minister who had been caught going against the interests of farmers just to return the favours the BJP had been doing towards him.
"I realise he owes them a lot, but his gratitude to the BJP must not come at the expense of the annadata of the country from his own state," she said.
She said that Amarinder is blaming the farmers for the economic mess he himself has created.
"The fact is that nobody is sure up to now which party's candidate Captain Sahib would really be in the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha poll. There have been reports that he is prepared to break his own party up if it threatens CM status. But he repays the BJP by blaming the farmers for the economic mess in which he himself has pushed the state," said the former union minister.
Harsimrat said that she can understand the frustration that compels the chief minister to choose the language which he is using while speaking against her, forgetting even the dignity and grace which his own age demands of him especially while responding to criticism by a woman almost his "daughter's age"
"I understand his problem with me. It is must be pretty awkward and embarrassing for someone to be caught lying and stabbing his own people, especially farmers. He is even putting on the farmers the blame for the mess that his own mis-governance and ineptitude has inflicted on the beleaguered state", said Harsimrat.
Harsimrat said she trusts the CM to still have his vision intact that the whole world saw during the discussion on the three black bills. He could not have failed to see that only two MPs in the entire country voted against those bills and those two were from the state where he does not want to see the farmers seeking justice.
Ms Badal further said she trusts the chief minister to still have his vision intact even at this age and therefore cannot believe that he did not see what the whole world saw during the discussion on the three black bills. He could not have failed to see that only two MPs in the entire country voted against those Bills, and those two were from the state where he does not want to see the farmers seeking justice.
The SAD leader said that she always felt bad having to be the one to call out the lies of someone so senior to her in age.
"I do not feel good at all about it for in Punjab we are taught to respect seniors to the extent of overlooking even their minor flaws. And I would never be disrespectful to anyone if the crucial interests of millions of farmers in Punjab and the rest of the country were not at stake. Captain Sahib must forgive me for having to speak the truth inconvenient to him. I do not mean to be disrespectful but I cannot help if the truth is (disrespectful). I wish it was not," said added.
Earlier on Wednesday, has said no Akali leader, especially Harsimrat Kaur Badal, had the moral right to speak on the crisis triggered by the farm laws, which they could easily have averted when they were part of the central government and party to each of its anti-people decisions.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)