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Hooda comes out in support of students, farmers
The LoP said that in a democracy, everyone has the right to stage peaceful protests and convey their demands to the government
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday extended his support to the demands of the agitating farmers and students.
In a statement, Hooda condemned the lathi-charge against students protesting against the paper leak in Delhi. “The government should take action against those responsible for the paper leak rather than targeting students. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan should accept moral responsibility for the paper leak and immediately resign from his post,” Hooda said.
He said that in a democracy, everyone has the right to stage peaceful protests and convey their demands to the government. Resorting to lathi-charges and the use of force against them is entirely undemocratic, he said.
The former CM said that the farmers are merely demanding what the BJP itself had promised to fulfil. “To gain power, the BJP had pledged to implement the Swaminathan report and provide MSP based on the C2 formula. Subsequently, in an effort to end the farmers’ protest, the government had also promised to enact a law guaranteeing MSP,” he said.
The LoP said the government has failed to honour its promises to date. Consequently, the farmers, the nation’s food providers, are once again compelled to launch an agitation. The government must immediately engage in dialogue with them and find a resolution to their demands. Due cognisance must be taken of the farmers’ objections regarding the trade deal with the United States, Hooda said.
Chandigarh Police detain Haryana Congress leaders
Around 30 leaders of the Haryana Congress were detained in Chandigarh while they were marching towards the Haryana Lok Bhawan to protest for the “rights of students” on Tuesday night.
They were detained from Sector 9 around 9pm and were taken to Sector 17 police station. The detained leaders included state in-charge Sanjay Dutt and Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh. As of filing this report, no FIR was registered by the police. They were also protesting against the Delhi Police’s action against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi who were detained in New Delhi for protesting outside the Prime Minister’s house.
