Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann slammed the farmers' unions on Friday for frequently staging protests by blocking roads in Punjab to get their demands fulfilled, saying the common people were facing inconvenience.
Bhagwant Mann said blocking roads by holding sit-ins had become a "trend" during the past few days, taking on the farmers' unions virtually head-on in a rare instance for any chief minister of the agrarian state.
He appealed to the farmers' bodies to stage sit-ins, if they had to, near the houses of ministers and legislators or the deputy commissioner's office, but "do not disturb the common people" by blocking the highways and other roads.
Sit-ins have been staged by different farmer unions during the past few days across the state, especially in Faridkot, Amritsar, Patiala and Bathinda districts.
The demands include more compensation for the land acquired for national highway projects and for crop damage due to inclement weather and pest attack, cancellation of cases against some farmers and bonus for wheat yield loss.
"I'm not their opponent, but if they stop buses and block roads like this, they will also lose public sympathy," he said at a news conference after a cabinet meeting in Chandigarh.
During the past seven months, Bhagwant Mann said, the AAP government took many decisions for the farmers' welfare, met most of their demands and some others were in process.
The chief minister underscored that the government held several meetings with the farmers' organisations, claiming that such a number of talks were not held during the past 10 years.
"First, they hold a sit-in to seek a meeting with the government. After this, another sit-in is held when the talks are held. Yet another is staged to demand issuing of notification," he said, making it clear that the government cannot be held to ransom like this.
"I've also come to know that some farmers' outfits only want to stage a sit-in to make their presence felt," Mr Mann claimed.
"They also have to show that they incurred expenses and for that, they have to collect funds from different sources." In the wake of the statement, the Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur) decided to intensify its protest in Amritsar and another farmers' outfit did the same in Bathinda.
In Amritsar, farmers have been blocking the Kathunangal toll plaza, which is an important link to connect Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
"I come from a farmer family also. I have full sympathy with them and want them to get their due," the Chief Minister said."But to say we had given a notice two days before (for holding a sit-in), this behaviour is not right".
He said staging a demonstration in a peaceful manner is everyone's democratic right, but the government should also be given time to meet the demands.
Mann requested the farmers' bodies not to hold sit-ins by blocking roads as people were facing problems.
"I hope they will pay heed to my appeal," he said.
The Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal hit out at Mann for his comments.
"Unlike the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress has always stood by farmers," Congress state president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring tweeted.
"AAP govt in Delhi was first to introduce controversial farm laws, while Punjab Congress govt was first to reject these by bringing in a resolution in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Our commitment towards farmers remains the same," Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said.
Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the farm unions were only asking the government to notify the demands, which were accepted in writing.
Daljit Singh Cheema pointed out that when a sit-in outside Mr Mann's residence in Sangrur was lifted last month, the government agreed to implement the charter of demands presented by the unions in a time-bound manner.
"It seems the chief minister wants to run away now from implementing the demands and that's why he has started bad-mouthing the farm unions," Daljit Singh Cheema said in a statement. He demanded that the compensation for crop damage as well as death of milch animals due to lumpy skin disease should be released at the earliest.
The Akali leader said farmers should be given an enhancement in the land acquisition relief and all cases registered against them for burning stubble in distress should be cancelled.
"Red entries put in revenue records of farmers should also be erased immediately," Mr Cheema said.
"Defaming others seems to be the hallmark of AAP, which had led defamatory campaigns against its political opponents earlier and decided to go after the farm unions now," he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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