Former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday attacked the Centre for calling protesting farmers ‘anti-nationals’. Addressing a press conference, the Akali Dal President stated that the BJP had insulted farmers by calling them anti-nationals. “There are elderly women in farmer protests. Do they look like Khalistanis? It is a way of calling farmers of the country as anti-nationals. This is an insult to the farmers. How dare they call our farmers anti-nationals? Does BJP or anybody else have the right to declare anybody as anti-national?
“These people (farmers) have dedicated their entire life to the nation and now you are calling them anti-national. People who are calling them anti-nationals are actually anti-nationals,” Badal stated.
Badal’s response was directed at these who have been expressing apprehensions about some protestors who have produced some controversial remarks whilst agitation. In the initial days of protests, a video of a farmer went viral in which he can be heard saying, “We dealt with Indira, will see Modi”. The BJP shared that video on Twitter suggesting that worry of some anti-nationals hijacking this protest was not totally misplaced.
On November 29, BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya shared a video of 1 Deep Sidhu, who can be heard telling police personnel how farmers’ protest can modify the geopolitics of the area. Sharing that video, Malviya wrote: “This man, a radical voice supporting the Khalistan movement, is the face of Congress’s farmer agitation in Punjab…Does India need enemies with parties like Congress and AAP around? The fire Capt Amarinder Singh is stoking devoured Indira Gandhi. But they don’t seem to learn.”
This man, a radical voice supporting the Khalistan movement, is the face of Congress’s farmer agitation in Punjab…
Does India want enemies with parties like Congress and AAP about?
The fire Capt Amarinder Singh is stoking devoured Indira Gandhi. But they do not appear to understand. pic.twitter.com/IibXE8297o
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 29, 2020
Earlier in the day, Sukhbir’s father and former Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal returned Padam Vibhshan saying he was misled by the Centre on farm laws. He stated that the Centre, at the time of ordinance, had assured him that the farmers’ apprehensions would be addressed ahead of converting that into laws.”But I was shocked when the government merely went back on its word,” Badal stated.