Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday stated he will not speak to his Haryana counter Manohar Lal Khattar till he seeks an apology for “inflicting brutality” on farmers marching to Delhi. The Punjab chief minister also junked the allegations that he did not speak to Khattar more than the farmers’ challenge regardless of repeated attempts by the Haryana CM, according to a statement.
“Khattar is lying that he tried calling me earlier and I did not respond. But now, after what he has done to my farmers, I will not speak to him even if he calls me 10 times. Unless he apologises and admits that he did wrong with Punjab’s farmers, I will not forgive him,” stated Singh, searching for apology from the Haryana CM for “inflicting brutality” on farmers. The Punjab CM’s reaction has come just after Khattar alleged on Saturday alleged that regardless of wanting to speak to him more than the challenge, he did not respond even when phone calls to his workplace had been created for 3 days.
Claiming a “conspiracy”, Khattar told reporters in Gurgaon that officials in the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office are “giving directions” to the protesting farmers from Punjab.
Earlier, Khattar had accused the Punjab CM of “only tweeting and running away from talks” with him on the challenge.
Amarinder Singh stated there is no way he would speak to Khattar once more–“neighbour or no neighbour”–just after Haryana’s use of water cannons and teargas shells against farmers.
Singh stated if he could speak to the prime minister and the Union household minister so a lot of occasions on the farmers’ challenge, why would he have not taken calls from a neighbouring chief minister if he had actually named earlier.
Questioning Khattar’s selection of not enabling farmers to go peacefully to the national capital, Amarinder Singh demanded to know “who’s Khattar to come in between? What business does he have interfering in this whole affair?” Amarinder Singh also slammed the Haryana CM for producing “baseless” allegations that he is instigating farmers.
“I am a nationalist to the core. I run a border state and will never do anything to create a law and order problem of any kind,” he asserted.
For 60 days, the farmers had been blocking Punjab’s railway tracks, causing much more than Rs 43,000 crore in losses to the state, devoid of any issue.
“I will not take this nonsense from Khattar. Don’t I have better things to do than to incite farmers,” he asked.
“Sometimes they say it’s Khalistanis who’re managing the protests and sometimes they accuse me of doing it.let them make up their minds,” stated Amarinder Singh.
The CM declared that no political celebration was involved in the farmers’ protests, which had been a spontaneous reaction of farmers who had been fighting for their future, according to the release.
Lambasting Khattar’s charges that farmers had been producing law and order issue, the CM stated the Punjabis are law-abiding citizens and it is Haryana which is “damaging” public home and blocking the highways to quit farmers.
Terming as “ludicrous” Khattar’s claim that Haryana farmers are not element of the “Delhi Chalo” agitation, Amarider Singh stated Punjab’s intelligence showed that as a lot of as 40,000-50,000 farmers from the neighbouring state have joined the march to the national capital, which even the Centre’s intelligence reports would have borne out.
“He (Khattar) doesn’t know what’s happening in his own state and he’s telling me what to do in my state,” quipped Amarinder.
The Punjab CM stated farmers had announced their selection to go to Delhi numerous days ago, even prior to lifting the rail blockade.
Farmers are angry more than the farm laws, which seek to destroy a nicely-attempted and productive one hundred-year-old program of mandis and arhtiyas (commission agents), he stated.
Stating that no one was stopping corporate homes from coming into the agricultural promoting program, the CM stated they are even now procuring and operating corporations in Punjab.
They can do this although continuing with the current program, each can run in parallel, he added.
The CM stated he also wanted the challenge to be settled and the confrontation to finish and will do what he can to aid resolve the issue.
He was ready to back any attempts by the Centre to finish this imbroglio, he stated, adding that the Centre has to speak to the farmers and locate a remedy.