"Rahul Gandhi Declared War": Smriti Irani On Congress' Farmers Warnings

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday evening accused Rahul Gandhi of "declaring war on the people of India". This was hours after the Congress MP warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the farmers' protest against the agriculture laws - which has so far been limited to Delhi and nearby regions - could spread to other states if the centre did not repeal the controversial laws.

"Rahul Gandhi today declared war on the people of India. He said that if his political stand is not supported by the PM of our country, then cities will burn! I appeal to every Indian citizen to ensure that Rahul Gandhi's call for violence is met with sustained peace," Ms Irani declared.

"Rahul Gandhi announced that the country would see the January 26 riots replicated in every city and even into slums... For the first time in history of India, a Congress leader asked for more violence instead of a call for peace," she added.

Earlier today Mr Gandhi said the "only solution" to the prolonged stand-off with farmers - tens of thousands of whom have braved police action and a freezing winter to remain camped out around Delhi since late November - was to "put them (the laws) in the wastepaper basket".

"The government must not think that the farmers are going back home. They are not going home, and my concern is that this situation is going to spread. We do not need this situation to spread... we need a conversation with farmers, and we need a solution," Mr Gandhi asserted.

"You are bullying... discrediting them... (when) the only solution is to put the laws in the wastepaper basket," he added.

ना ग़ाज़ीपुर में पुलिस तैनात करके
ना #SinghuBorder पर पथराव करके
ना किसी और साज़िश से

किसान का हौसला तोड़ पाओगे

पूरा देश उनके साथ खड़ा है, उन्हें आप डरा-धमका नहीं सकते।

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 29, 2021

Accusing the Prime Minister of "working for a few corporates", Mr Gandhi said: "What will he (the Prime Minister) say... I am telling the farmers 'don't give up an inch... we are with you'."

Lakhs of farmers across India have spent the last several weeks demanding the centre repeal laws passed by parliament in September amid unprecedented chaos and allegations.

Mr Gandhi and the Congress have been fiercely critical of the ruling BJP on this issue.

Last week he said the centre had put the farm sector into the hands of "crony capitalists". A few days before that he warned of a "huge tragedy" if the continued to ignore the farmers.

An already fragile situation exploded on Republic Day when groups of farmers and others clashed with police during a tractor rally that turned violent. Police had to resort to firing tear gas and lathi charges to control the situation. One farmer died and hundreds of cops were injured.

The violence has led to increased tension, particularly along the Delhi border, where police have been deployed after the UP and Haryana governments ordered farmers to vacate the sites.

Earlier today a group of over 200 people threw stones and vandalised farmers' tents at Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border. Two police personnel were injured, one by a sword.

Similar scenes were reported from Tikri, another Delhi-Haryana border site where farmers are camped out, and where a group of people began demanding they vacate the area.