After Captain Amarinder Singh criticised Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal of notifying one of the three farm laws in Delhi, the AAP party chief hit out at the Punjab CM today, claiming that Singh was indulging in low-level politics. Refuting the allegations levelled by Singh, the Delhi CM contended that it is not up to state government to implement the farm laws.
“How can he do such low-level politics in this fragile situation? It’s not up to the state govt to implement it. Had it been so why would farmers of the country hold talks with Centre,” the Delhi CM said.
Kejriwal had denied permission for 9 stadiums that the centre had sought from Delhi government to house the protesting farmers. Defending the move, Kejriwal said that the stadiums would have been converted into “jails” and therefore his government did not grant the permission. Kejriwal added that Singh was upset with him because he didn’t accord permission to turn the stadiums into “jails”.
So, is it the pressure of these people that you are putting allegations against me? Are you doing it for friendship with BJP or are you under pressure as Enforcement Directorate has filed case against your family?: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
— ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2020
Accusing Captain Amarinder Singh of colluding with the BJP, Kejriwal alleged that the Punjab chief minister has made wild allegations against him under the pressure of the Enforcement Directorate case against his family.
“So, is it the pressure of these people that you are putting allegations against me? Are you doing it for friendship with BJP or are you under pressure as Enforcement Directorate has filed a case against your family?” Kejriwal said while alleging that the pressure from the central government is what has led the Punjab chief minister to make allegations against him.
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh says AAP working behind farmers’ back to bring in farm laws
Earlier yesterday, Singh had blasted out at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and AAP government, saying they had displayed “shocking double standards on the farmers’ protests” by “shamelessly implementing the draconian” farm law in the midst of the crisis while posturing to be in support of the farmers.
In a statement issued by Amarinder Singh on Tuesday, the Punjab CM said that though AAP was claiming to be supporting the protesting farmers, the AAP government in Delhi had brazenly passed the farm law through a gazette notification on November 23.
According to the officials, the Delhi government had notified one of the three central farm laws and was examining the remaining two. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020 was notified on November 23, said a senior Delhi government official. This law allows farmers to sell their produce outside APMC markets, giving them more freedom and flexibility, while retaining the APMC system.
“Quite evidently, the AAP government had been working behind the farmers’ backs all these days,” Singh said, expressing shock that even before the farmers had started their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, the Kejriwal-led government in Delhi had issued a notification for the law against which the agitation was to be launched.
“First they failed to pass any amendment laws in the Delhi Assembly to negate the central laws, as was done in Punjab. And now they have gone so far as to officially notify the agricultural legislation in Delhi, where AAP is in power. The party’s true intent and affiliation have been utterly exposed,” Amarinder noted.
Arvind Kejriwal’s comments do not make any sense
It may be noted that the arguments made by Arvind Kejriwal do not make much sense. While the Delhi CM says that his government has no power over the farm laws, it is a fact that his govt has notified one of the laws through a gazette notification on 23rd November. If Delhi’s AAP govt is fully supporting the protests by farmers from Punjab and Haryana, and opposes the farm laws, there was no reason for it to notify the law. This shows that Amarinder Singh is right in doubting the intention of the Delhi govt.
Kejriwal also alleged that Amarinder Singh criticised him for not allowing stadiums to converted into temporary jails to imprison the protesting farmers. This also does not make sense, as there is no reason why the Punjab CM would not be happy with the decision. The Punjab govt is fully supporting the protests by farmers mainly from its govt, and the Punjab CM has not made any public comment criticising the Delhi govt for not allowing to jail farmers in stadiums. If the Delhi police is not able to jail farmers due to lack of facilities, the Punjab govt should be happy with the Delhi govt for causing it. Therefore, this claim by Arvind Kejriwal does not make any sense.
The other allegation, that Captain Amarinder Singh was criticising the Delhi govt for his ‘friendship’ with BJP, seems completely baseless. The Punjab CM has become one of the most vocal critics of the laws after they were passed by the parliament, and the Punjab assembly had passed resolutions against the laws. The CM actively supported the protesting farmers, allowing them to block trains for weeks that had negative affects on the state. There is no evidence that there is any friendship between the Punjab CM and BJP, and the Captain is attacking the Delhi alleging hypocrisy over farm laws.
Amarinder Singh has slammed Arvind Kejriwal for not opposing the farm laws to the full extent, therefore, it is a far stretched to claim that he is doing this due to closeness to BJP, because BJP is fully supporting and defending the laws.
This shows that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is trying to play the game from both sides. While he has realised that the laws are really beneficial for the farmers, and hence notified one of them, he is supporting the protesting farmers to be on the good book of left-liberals. The so-called farmer protests have been completely hijacked by leftists and Khalistanis, and the Delhi CM does not want to alienate them.
Politicians vying to pass the buck on one other
As the political storm kicked up by the ongoing farmers’ protest sweeps Delhi and the surrounding region, politicians who are in the eye of the storm, have resorted to making allegations and counter-allegations against each other, in a desperate bid to extricate themselves from the ensuing mess and pass the buck of the same on their rivals.
The war of words between Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Amarinder Singh seems to be an exercise to that end. The two politicians, after enthusiastically supporting the farmers’ protests, do not want to end up shouldering the responsibility of the fallout, should the protests do not yield its intended result. It is for this reason that Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, after having spurred the farmers against the agriculture bills, are vying to push the blame of a possible failure on each other.
