CBI, Enforcement Directorate should be sent to borders: Shiv Sena takes dig

The Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation should be sent to the borders to tackle terrorists and infiltration on the borders, Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena has said in its latest attack on the BJP. Criticising the use of water cannons on protesting farmers near Delhi in this cold wave sweeping parts of north India as “cruel”, the Sena also said that the BJP is raking up the Khalistan issue to start their “politics” in Punjab.

“Our farmers are being treated as terrorists and attacked on the Delhi border while terrorists are killing our soldiers on the border in Kashmir. BJP wants to vitiate the atmosphere…. Khalistan is a closed chapter for which Indira Gandhi and General Arunkumar Vaidya laid down their lives. BJP is now unnecessarily raking up the Khalistan issue. It wants to spark the issue and start its politics in Punjab,” the editorial in Saamana said.

Farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting for the past five days and have gathered at the Haryana-Delhi border as they are denied entry into the national capital. The farmers are protesting against new agricultural laws that the Centre says will bring reforms. They fear the new law will allow corporates to control prices and take away their minimum guaranteed earnings.

Commenting on the use of Central agencies by the ruling government at the Centre to target opposition-ruled states, the Sena said, “The ED and CBI should be given an opportunity to prove their valour. Every time bullets don’t work. At Delhi’s border, our farmers are called terrorists while terrorists are entering the Kashmir border and Ladakh. At such times, ED and CBI should be sent to the borders. There is no other option.”

The editorial published on Monday said that the giant statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat will be shedding tears at the treatment meted out to the farmers. It further added that the BJP is using all tools to destabilise the government of the opponents in all non-BJP ruled states, including Maharashtra, but the same “determination” is not seen while battling the enemies of the country.

“Farmers are stopped at the Delhi border. Since they are from Punjab they are termed terrorists and Khalistani. Farmers are charged with rioting, attempt to murder, etc. Seeing all this the grand statue of Sardar Patel must have shed tears,” it added.