‘Panjab Will Definitely Avenge this Backstabbing,’ INC Leader on Farmers’ Protest

After police removed protesting farmers from the Panjab and Haryana interstate borders at Shambhu and Khanauri, Indian National Congress (INC) leader Supriya Shrinate slammed the Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. Shrinate said, 'Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) showed its true character. It is unbelievable that a party born out of a movement would resort to ending the farmers' movement in this manner. Panjab will definitely avenge this backstabbing.' The Panjab Assembly session started on 21 Mar with a walkout by the INC over the government’s treatment of the farmers. The leader of the Opposition in Panjab Assembly, INC’s Pratap Singh Bajwa said, 'They called the farmers for a meeting and detained them. They want to ensure that the party candidate for Ludhiana West by-poll Sanjeev Arora wins the election so that Arvind Kejriwal can become a Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) member.’ Sanjeev Arora is currently a Rajya Sabha member and AAP has fielded him from the constituency. On 18 Mar, while kickstarting the campaign for the Ludhiana West by-poll, AAP chief Kejriwal introduced the One-Time Settlement scheme to waive compounding interests so that Ludhiana's industry could clear their long-pending dues. He also announced an in-principle approval of new projects in 45 days, plus a fresh industrial policy. Over the last year, Ludhiana’s industrial lobby has sought passage through Shambhu and Khanauri which the Haryana government had blocked to prevent Panjab’s farmers from proceeding to Delhi. Bharatiya Janata Party's Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu alleged that CM Mann’s govt. didn't want the talks between the union govt. and the farmers to conclude. He said he spoke to union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Piyush Goyal who were shocked to learn about the action against farmers with whom they had concluded the talks 'positively.'