On March 27, anti-farm law protestors in Punjab attacked BJP MLA from Abohar, Arun Narang. They thrashed him and tore off his clothes. The visuals of the incident that took place in Malout town, district Muktsar, Punjab, had gone viral on social media platforms. Police and BJP workers present at the scene somehow managed to save him.
‘I was attacked the moment I reached there’: Arun Narang
OpIndia reached out to Arun Narang to know his perspective about the incident. Narang said that Bharatiya Janata Party had organized press conferences to highlight the failures of the Congress-led Punjab Government. He was scheduled to attend the press meet in Malout, District Muktsar. As soon as he got out of his car, he was attacked by the goons present on the scene.
When we asked if any slogans were raised at the scene, he said they did not take time to raise any slogans before attacking him. As soon as he stepped out of the car, the attackers, who were sitting there together, started shouting, “BJP MLA is here, BJP MLA is here,” and started trashing him.
Narang further added that an FIR had been registered in the case by the Police. The party is standing with him and will take appropriate action as per law against the attackers.
‘I was always with the farmers, and they are with me’: Arun Narang
When we asked if the bad blood started when he changed his stance on the Farm Laws, Narang said he is not talking in favour or against anything but those who attacked were goons.
He has always worked for the farmers’ benefit, and the farmers in his constituency are with him. He further said that those who initiated the attack on him were goons. “They were holding flags of Farmer Unions, but they were goons. Farmers of my constituency are my friends and they know me very well,” he added.
‘Probe required to identify the goons and their funding sources’
Narang said that the identity of these goons is a matter of investigation. When he was asked about the statement made by BKU that those who attacked him were not farmers, he said that there is a possibility that those who trashed him were Congress goons posing as farmers. He said the law enforcement agencies must investigate the matter to identify them. “Their identification and source of funding is a matter of investigation. The Police must find out who is behind these goons,” he said.
‘Congress fanning the agitation’
During the conversation with OpIndia, Narang said to come back to power in the 2022 Assembly elections in Punjab, Amrinder Singh-led Punjab Government under Congress Party is using the farmers’ agitation for their own benefit. They are misleading the farmers about the farm laws and creating mistrust among the central government and the farmers.
Narang said that the Law and Order situation in Punjab is in bad shape. The Congress government is not ready to provide security to the democratically elected representatives of BJP in the state. They do not care about an elected MLA’s safety and do not care if a BJP leader dies because of such security breaches. Democracy has been replaced by anarchy in Punjab.
“In a democracy, every party has the right to put up their point of view. However, the Congress party and farmer leaders do not want us to speak. I was listening to a leader today who said that we should not speak till the time their demands are not met. It does not work like that. This is not democracy,” Narang said. Narang added that CM Amarinder Singh has to provide security to the elected representative, but they are not doing anything. The Police stand idle and do not take any action.
‘It felt like they wanted to lynch me,’ Narang says
Narang said that it is unclear what forces are misleading the farmers and initiating such attacks against BJP. “The attack felt like a plan to lynch me. Though they were holding Kisan Union flags, who know the identity of the people behind the attack. They were goons, and a probe must be initiated to identify them at the earliest,” Narang said while emphasizing on the fact that there are a lot of leaders of opposition parties like Congress and people with a vested interest that is creating an anti-establishment atmosphere in the country especially in Punjab and Haryana.
