‘Took extortion money from Congress’: Haryana minister says Gurnam Chaduni creating continuous chaos in state

Haryana agriculture minister JP Dalal alleged that the protests will continue till ‘some innocent farmers die.’

On a day when farmers protesting against the three central farm laws are holding a kisan mahapanchayat in Haryana’s Karnal, a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Tuesday that Gurnam Singh Chaduni, who heads the Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), has taken “extortion money” from the opposition Congress to create chaos in the state.

“I feel Chaduni took extortion money from the Congress to create continuous chaos in Haryana. They will continue this until some innocent farmers die. However, some farmers in the state have realised that it isn’t about farmers, but that it is political,” JP Dalal, the agriculture minister in chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s government, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Chaduni, a prominent farmer leader and member of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), has been the face of anti-farm law protests in the northern state. The SKM is an umbrella body of 40 unions leading farmers’ agitation since November last year.

The mahapanchayat is being held after the district administration refused to cede to farmers’ demands pertaining to police lathi-charge in Karnal on August 28. Farmers had given administration time till September 6 to accept their demands failing which, they warned, they would hold the mahapanchayat and gherao the mini-secretariat. On Monday, talks between the two sides ended without an agreement being reached.

Security has been beefed up in Karnal and mobile internet services have been suspended in five districts till Tuesday night.

Tuesday’s event comes two days after the SKM held a mahapanchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, the home turf of BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait.