Amarinder Singh said allegations that Punjab farmers were "urban naxals" were "foolish, petty" (File)
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh hit back at the BJP on Sunday, hours after the ruling party said farmers protesting against the centre's agriculture bills were "urban naxals" and accused him of failing to maintain law and order in the state.
A furious Mr Singh called the comments "downright foolish and petty" and advised the BJP to concentrate on law and order and policy-making in Delhi, where, he said, "misdirected action (and) bad policy" had led to the farmers' protests being "mishandled".
"The statement given by senior BJP leadership in today's newspapers - calling the farmers urban naxals - is downright foolish and petty," Amarinder Singh tweeted this evening.
"Do they think that the farmer law distress is limited to only Delhi? Any mishandling of this issue takes place in Delhi - either through misdirected action or bad policy. Then don't blame Punjab Police or Government for the aftermath..." he added.
Earlier today BJP General Secretary Tarun Chugh alleged that disruption of telecom services over the past 24 hours was proof Punjab's Congress government had failed to maintain law and order.
"Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has completely failed to maintain law and order in the state... urban Naxal forces seem to be having a field day in Punjab," Mr Chugh said in his statement, while also suggesting Mr Singh had "connived with Naxal forces to ensure the collapse of law and order".
Nearly 1,400 telecom towers in Punjab - all belonging to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio - have been vandalised by irate farmers since Saturday. Sources told news agency PTI the attacks had impacted services and operators were struggling in the absence of action by law enforcement agencies.
Although firms belonging to Mr Ambani do not currently procure produce, many fear the new laws will benefit large corporate groups at the expense of farmers, making the telecom towers an easy target.
On Friday Amarinder Singh had appealed to protesting farmers to not inconvenience the public by their actions and continue to exercise the restraint they had shown over the past weeks.
This morning the BJP's Tarun Chugh said: "The situation is getting similar to what is seen in pockets of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand where public properties are targeted by the Naxals."
This is not the first time the BJP has floated the "ultra-left" or "separatists" narrative - a tactic that the farmers say is being used to divide what has been, so far, a remarkably united front.
Earlier this month government sources blamed "pro-Left Wing Extremist elements" - not different the "urban naxals" label used on social media - for the farmers' movement taking a sinister turn. Last month Amit Malviya, the chief of the BJP's IT cell, alleged a "Khalistan and Maoist" link.
The farmers have rubbished the claims; last week the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stress that their protests were not linked to any political party, ideology or affiliation.
Five rounds of talks have been held so far to resolve the impasse between the two sides. However, neither side is willing to budge at this point. The farmers want the laws scrapped and the centre is only open to amending more problematic sections.
An invitation to a sixth round has been dismissed by the farmers, who say the centre is "not serious about our demands" and is more interested in propaganda that paints them in a negative light.
With input from PTI