Haryana Minister J P Dalal questions Cong leaders' 'silence' over baton-charge on farmers in Punjab

Haryana Agriculture Minister J P Dalal on Friday questioned the ''silence'' of Congress leaders over police baton-charging a group of farmers in the party-ruled Punjab, and alleged that the party was only using the farmers to serve its own interest.

A day after the Punjab Police used batons and a water cannon to disperse a group of protesting farmers in Moga, Dalal told reporters here, ''When police lathi-charge farmers in Punjab, Congress leaders maintain silence over it. Even Rahul Gandhi feigns ignorance and does not make any comment on Twitter. Even Congress leaders from Haryana who always claim to fight for farmers' interests do not utter a word.'' The BJP leader alleged that the Congress was not bothered about the welfare of farmers and has only been using them to serve its own interest.

He spelled out several steps taken by the BJP-led government for the welfare of farmers.

The Punjab Police on Thursday used batons and a water cannon to disperse a group of farmers who allegedly tried to force their way inside the venue of an event of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab's Moga, which was being addressed by its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. Police had claimed some of the protesters scuffled with them, broke barricades and hurled stones in a bid to force their way inside the venue in Moga's grain market which is near a national highway.

A few protesters and some policemen were injured in the incident.

The incident in Moga happened a few days after protesting farmers were lathi-charged by the Haryana Police in Karnal. The Congress had attacked the BJP government in Haryana over it.

Asked why the Congress has a different stand on the Karnal and Moga incidents, Congress' national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate told reporters here on Friday that "Congress' stand is that it always stands in support of the farmers.'' ''The administration takes steps to control crowds and in that if lathicharge took place (referring to Moga incident), I condemn that. I condemn action against farmers, wherever it has taken place, irrespective of whether we are in government or not," she said.

At the same time, she said, "there is a huge difference between what happened in Punjab and what happened in Haryana." ''The chief minister of Haryana, BJP leaders never condemned the incident (in Karnal), they tried to hush up things. This is the difference, you must understand this,'' she said.

The Congress has attacked the BJP government in Haryana over Saturday's lathicharge on farmers in Karnal, held statewide protests over the issue and demanded a judicial probe.

The Haryana government had on Wednesday transferred 19 IAS officers, including Karnal SDM Ayush Sinha who was recently caught on tape allegedly telling policemen dealing with a farmers' protest to ''break their heads''.

The Haryana Police had used force on the protesters at Bastara toll plaza when farmers allegedly tried to march towards the venue of a BJP meeting, in which the Haryana chief minister and other senior BJP leaders from the state were present.

Referring to the farmers protesting against the Centre's farm laws and sitting at Delhi's borders for over nine months, the Congress spokesperson said the government has not bothered to invite them for talks after January.

''Six hundred farmers have died during this agitation, have you heard a word of sympathy from the government for them?" she said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)