Chandigarh, November 24 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today condemned the Haryana government for using repressive tactics against farmers proceeding to Delhi to hold a peaceful protest against the three unjust agricultural laws on the directions of the centre and asserted that the ‘lok lehar’ could not be repressed by such undemocratic means.
In a statement here, SAD Spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema termed the sealing of the Haryana borders as most unfortunate. He said the Haryana government did not have any right to stop the movement of farmers on its roads. “Farmers have a right to proceed to Delhi to record their protest against the agricultural laws. The Haryana government should not use coercive tactics to suppress the ‘annadaata’ solely to please the central government”.
Dr Daljit Cheema also charged the central government with pushing the agitating farmers into the wrong direction by giving the green signal to the Haryana government to use undemocratic means to stop them from proceeding to Delhi to take part in the two days planned protest on November 26-27. He said instead of doing this the centre should hold talks with farmers and accept their demands including guaranteeing assured government purchase of food grains at minimum support price (msp). “It should simultaneously tell the Haryana government to let farmers proceed to Delhi peacefully”.
The Akali leader also made it clear that the SAD wholeheartedly supported the “Delhi Chalo” call of the farmer organizations. “We are one with the farming community in participating in the programme. SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal has also asked the SAD Delhi unit as well as the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) to extend all possible help to farmers during their stay in Delhi including ‘langar’ services. Our cadre will also help farmers on the route to Delhi in every way possible”.
