Haryana home minister Anil Vij on Wednesday expressed surprise and questioned the role of the Punjab government in giving free passage to agitating farmers and then objecting to security personnel from Haryana using drones to drop tear-gas shells at Shambhu border to prevent the protesters from entering the state.
“When the farmers from Amritsar embarked on the march, why didn’t the Punjab government stop them?” Vij said, wondering whether they (Punjab) intended to create chaos in New Delhi or again disrespect Red Fort.
Also read: Patiala DC objects to Haryana dropping tear-gas shells in Punjab
On the approach of the Punjab government towards farmer issues, Vij said:” If someone attacks our police and escapes to Punjab, why can’t we go after such elements and catch them?”
Interacting with mediapersons, he said, “When these groups (farmers) marched from Amritsar, the Punjab government did not make any effort to stop them anywhere on the way. This means they want to create chaos in Delhi, do they want to go to Delhi and dance again at the Red Fort?”
The farmers are still at Shambhu border and insisting they will go to Delhi. “They did not talk when the Union ministers and officials came to Chandigarh. Their objective is something else,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The farmers are still at Shambhu border and insisting they will go to Delhi. “They did not talk when the Union ministers and officials came to Chandigarh. Their objective is something else,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Vij’s remarks came a day after the Patiala deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmed wrote to his Ambala counterpart Shaleen, objecting to Haryana Police dropping tear-gas shells via drones in Punjab to prevent farmers from marching to Delhi.
The Haryana Police on Tuesday fired nearly 4,500 tear-gas shells, some of them using drones, at Shambhu border with Punjab to disperse protesting farmers in Patiala territory and preventing them from reaching the multi-layered barricading.