During an interview with Republic TV on Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh accused the Haryana Government of disrupting the farmers’ protest and stopping the demonstrators from reaching Delhi.
He alleged, “This (Delhi) is the National Capital. Everyone has the right to go there. And farmers wanted to go to Delhi. The Central Government allowed farmers to visit Delhi and grant them permission. We (Punjab government) had also allowed the farmers to travel to the National Capital and share their grievances. But, the Haryana government decided to become an obstacle in the path. And this is not the first time that they are doing such a thing.”
Who is @mlkhattar to stop the farmers from going to national capital when Centre & Delhi are allowing farmers to enter? Why did he assault them? I’ll not forgive him for what he’s done to the farmers. He never called earlier but now I won’t talk to him till he apologizes. pic.twitter.com/VJbwZri00p
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) November 28, 2020
The Punjab CM then accused the Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar of passing the blame on the Congress government in Punjab. “Did you (Manohar Lal Khattar) come and see what’s happening in Punjab? Mind your own State. He is accusing me of orchestrating the protests. Do you have any special intelligence report that we or central agencies do not have? After how he had behaved with my fellow Punjabis, I have decided to not meet him,” stated Captain Amarinder Singh. He had also alleged that Manohar Lal Khattar did not even bother to contact him prior to stopping the farmers from reaching Delhi.
Private Secretary to Haryana CM debunks his claims
However, Abhimanyu Singh, who works as the private Secretary to Haryana Chief Minister, took to Twitter to debunk his lies. He had shared details of the official phone calls made to the Punjab Chief Minister between November 23-24. As per the records, the Haryana government had made 2 telephonic calls to the Punjab government on November 23 while 11 more calls were made on November 24. Despite a total of 13 calls, the Haryana government did not receive a proper official correspondence from the Punjab Chief Ministers’ office.
Hon CM @Capt_Amrinder Sir, Hope you’re doing great.
— Abhimanyu Singh (@abhimanyu7779) November 28, 2020
I have came across a very strange situation , therefore thought of letting you know sir.
Sir it seems that your personal staff didn’t brief you about the phone calls of other Chief Ministers made in official capacity. 1/7 pic.twitter.com/BHkoDP3uV8
While taking a jibe at Amarinder Singh, Abhimanyu Singh wrote, “Sir it seems that your personal staff didn’t brief you about the phone calls of other Chief Ministers made in an official capacity.” He stated that the first call was made to the Punjab CMO at 6:23 pm on November 23 but the Haryana CMO was asked to contact at Siswa farm. However, on dialling there at around 6:24 pm, the phone operator that the Punjab CM was not reachable.
3/7
— Abhimanyu Singh (@abhimanyu7779) November 28, 2020
Our operator again dialed Siswa farm at 6.24PM and operator was told that CM (i.e. You sir) isn’t reachable, please call back again.
He informed, “Next day on 24th, We waited for a response from you sir but unfortunately your staff choose not to inform you sir for reasons best known to your staffs only. We didn’t receive call back, therefore, from 2.32PM to 09.07PM we called you sir 11 times but they only gave excuses.”
5/7
— Abhimanyu Singh (@abhimanyu7779) November 28, 2020
We didn’t receive call back, therefore, from 2.32PM to 09.07PM we called you sir 11 times but they only gave excuses.
While wishing a good life to Captain Amarinder Singh, the private Secretary to the Haryana CM had asked to look into the issue and whether his staff was making decisions on such sensitive matters.
7/7
— Abhimanyu Singh (@abhimanyu7779) November 28, 2020
Thank you so much, Praying for your long and healthy life sir.
Regards
Abhimanyu Singh
Personal Secretary to CM Haryana
Through the seven-tweet Twitter thread, Abhimanyu Singh said that the Haryana government made several attempts to contact the Punjab CMO, which contradicts the allegations of Amarinder Singh.
Capt Amarinder Singh earlier attacked CM Khattar on Twitter
A large group of farmers and traders had tried to enter Delhi via Haryana, which was blocked by the Haryana government. Irked by the strict measures taken by CM ML Khattar to stop the protestors from entering Delhi, CM Singh has posted a series of tweets condemning CM Khattar’s actions. He said, “For nearly 2 months farmers have been protesting peacefully in Punjab without any problem. Why is Haryana govt provoking them by resorting to force? Don’t the farmers have the right to pass peacefully through a public highway?”
The Farm Laws
In September 2020, the Central Government announced three new agriculture sector reform laws named Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance, and Farm Service Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The main aim of these reforms is to provide a better platform for the farmers to sell their produce.
Simultaneously, several clauses protect farmers’ rights on how they want to sell the crop, timely payments, and more. Despite several clarifications by the Central government that the MSP provisions will remain as is, opposition parties have repeatedly indulged in spreading misinformation and accused the government of trying to end MSP provision. PM Modi had come down heavily on the parties opposing the farm laws on September 18 and said those who had kept farmers tied to restrictions for decades are now lying about agricultural reforms.
