Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said the PM failed to hold a dialogue with farmers protesting at the Punjab and Haryana border.
Mann, while campaigning for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Barnala for the party’s Sangrur Lok Sabha candidate Gurmeet Hayer, said the same protesting farmers will again fill the godowns with wheat stock to be used by the entire country, contributing nearly 130 million tonnes into the national pool.
Criticising the PM’s alleged apathy towards farmers even as he bats for effective communication between Russian and Ukraine to stop the war, Mann said, “In a latest Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ad video, a girl, who returns to India, claims that Modi had put an end to the Russia-Ukraine war to help Indian nationals be rescued. If PM Modi can stop the war, why can’t he talk to farmers sitting a mere 150 km away from Delhi? The PM will not talk to these farmers. He will keep spreading only lies.”
Mann said the Centre does not see any borders when they need wheat and rice from Punjab, but when the farmers seek talks or stage protest, the borders are sealed with barbed wires.
{{/usCountry}}Mann said the Centre does not see any borders when they need wheat and rice from Punjab, but when the farmers seek talks or stage protest, the borders are sealed with barbed wires.
{{/usCountry}}Notably, Punjab farmers have been holding sit-in protests at Punjab-Haryana borders since February 13, demanding a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), on 23 crops.
Mocking the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for failing to release the names of candidates from Punjab, Mann said both parties did not have a pool big enough to find even 13 candidates for the state’s Lok Sabha seats. “Some of the Congress leaders are scared, fearing a defeat in the elections. Same is the case with SAD,” the Punjab CM said.
New govt at Centre won’t be formed without AAP
He, however, exuded confidence in the INDIA bloc’s victory in the election, saying the new government at the Centre won’t be formed without the AAP. “You will be surprised and happy to know that the INDIA bloc is getting nearly between 120-125 seats of 190 seats – on which votes have already polled during the first two phases of Lok Sabha elections,” claimed Mann.
To meet Kejriwal tomorrow
During his address, the Punjab CM said he would meet his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the national convener for AAP, in Tihar Jail on April 30.
Mann added that the Punjab director general of police informed him that a meeting had already been fixed to meet Kejriwal.
This would be the second meeting between the two inside the jail complex. “I will meet him on April 30 at around 12.30 pm. I will tell him about the people of Punjab are showing love and support to the party,” Mann said.
Strikes emotional chord with Ludhiana voters
Mann also hit the campaign trail for AAP’s pick from Ludhiana, Ashok Parashar Pappi, in the crowded Haibowal area.
Striking an emotional chord with the voters, he described the city as his “karambhoomi”, saying his journey to establish himself in art and acting scene in 1991 began in Ludhiana. He called travelling to the cassette market near the Clock Tower daily on a scooter.
“The city blessed me with name and fame as an artist. I am familiar with the streets of the city and Haibowal area. I am in the city again for the blessings of the people for support in Parliament,” he said.
The CM said he needed the support of Punjab’s 13 MPs as he was fighting against the Centre, the BJP, Congress, the SAD and the governor all alone, exhorting voters to support his party.
Pappi and AAP’s Ludhiana North MLA Madan Lal Bagga also addressed the gathering.