Kejriwal again questions Centre over Lakhimpur Kheri incident
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Nov, 2021 11:59 AM
New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Had the Supreme Court not intervened, the perpetrators of Lakhmipur Kheri violence would not have even been arrested, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said during the special single-day Assembly session on Friday.
"The farmers of the country had to face such difficult times at the hands of their own elected government after the latter passed the three farm laws without their consent. Those in power used every measure to suppress the protesting farmers. They hurled abuses at them, called them anti-national, Khalistani, and agenst of Pakistan and China.
"They did not even spare our farmers' lives, and an SUV even ran over the protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. If not for the Supreme Court, the perpetrators of the heinous crime would not have arrested till now," Kejriwal said on the floor of the House.
"I still do not understand what is the reason behind the Centre shielding those who crushed the farmers under their car," he added.
Congratulating the farmers and referring to the 1907 Punjab unrest, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said, "This is probably the longest struggle against injustice that has took place in the history of humanity. Before 2020, Indian farmers had led a similar struggle against the then British government. It continued for eight months, while the present protest against one's own government has surpassed even that duration and is continued for 12 months now. I want to congratulate the farmers for peacefully winning this battle. It is a victory of democracy."
He further congratulated the farmers of Punjab for leading the protest, and the women for standing alongside the men in all circumstances.
Drawing parallel to the 2011 anti-corruption movement that paved way for his entry into politics, Kejriwal said, "When we received information that farmers from Punjab and Haryana are marching towards Delhi, the Centre wanted us to turn the stadia into jails, but we did not listen to them as we knew that if the protest was allowed inside the stadis, it will die down. Delhi government did its best to help the farmers in every possible way, be it in terms of arrangements or supporting them."
Taking a dig at BJP, Kejriwal said, "Since the day the BJP came to power, it has tried to stifle everyone. Even their party members agree with us on this. They too are pained by all this. However, they have been ordered from above that the level of post they will be assigned will depend on how louder they can shout."
"BJP is a such a shameless party that when the Centre introduced the three farm laws in the Parliament, it called it a 'masterstroke'. And when they announced to repeal them, even then they hailed the move as 'masterstroke'," he added.
Sonia Gandhi on Monday approved several committees ahead of the Assembly polls in Goa. Girish Chodankar has been retained as the state president and former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will continue as the Congress legislative party leader while Alexio Sequeira is the Working state President.
After Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, Afghanistan has plunged into a big humanitarian crisis. Pakistan is perceived as having played a major role in bringing the Taliban back to power. As evacuation of foreign nationals winds down, a US missile defence system intercepted rockets fired towards the Kabul international airport.
Adityanath visited the families of those who lost their members and assured them of help. The Chief Minister also visited the 100-bed district hospital at Firozabad where children showing symptoms of the disease are being treated.
The Punjab Chief Minister reminded Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala that the farmers who were protesting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meeting in Karnal when the police baton charged them belonged to Haryana and not Punjab.
A video had gone viral of the SDM shouting out instructions to policemen to use force to stop the protesting farmers. Khattar had told a press conference that the officer's "choice of words was not correct" but said, "if any action has to be taken (against the officer), it would first have to be assessed by the district administration."
Speaking at a party function in Amritsar city, Sidhu said "if he is allowed to work according to his own policy of hope and faith, he will ensure Congress rule in the state for 20 years".
