Akali Dal warns Centre about reckless, repressive steps against farmers

Dec 10, 2020
Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday urged the central government not to take any reckless or repressive steps that might deepen festering emotional wounds in the farmers’ minds and weaken the sacred cause of peace and communal harmony in the country.

“Do not repeat Congress blunders of divide and rule. Do nothing that weakens national unity or disturbs peace and communal harmony for which Punjabis, especially the SAD, have made supreme sacrifices,” says a Resolution of the core committee of the party that met here.

The meeting was presided over by SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Giving details of the meeting to the media, Harcharan Bains, Principal Advisor to Badal, said that the SAD will observe the centenary of the party as “Sangharsh Samarpan Divas” for ‘Sarbat da Bhala’, with focus on farmers’ interests and justice for them.

He said “the SAD will fully safeguard peace and communal harmony in Punjab and the rest of the country at all costs and will expose and defeat every conspiracy against these ideals.

“The party is convinced that no progress in the country is possible without peace, communal harmony and national unity,” said Bains, adding that unfortunately ‘some people are not happy over this prevailing peace and harmony’.

Asking the government not to be stubborn or stand on prestige against the ‘annadata’ of the country, the SAD resolution asked, “If the government is willing to change every clause of the old Acts, then why is it standing on prestige to revoke them. After all, if you are conceding all demands of the farmers, why not put it all in the new Act and end the debate once and for all?”

The party condemned the deep-rooted conspiracy to paint the movement of the patriotic farmers in communal and separatist colours.

“The movement is not only peaceful and democratic but also totally secular and nationalist and patriotic. The sons of a large number of the agitators are right now defending the borders of the country against China and Pakistan. They come from families that have shed blood in the defence of the country in all wars, including 1948, 1965, 1971, the Kargil war and now in Galwan in Ladakh.

The resolution expressed deep concern and anxiety over “ominous signs of a deep conspiracy to divide Hindus and Sikhs and farmers and traders. This is an anti-national conspiracy and the SAD will fight against it with all the resources at its disposal. Farmers’ agitation is a people’s movement which is totally peaceful, democratic and secular movement. This was visible in the all round support to the Bharat Bandh lent by every section of society.”

The party said it “fully backs the farmers demands with regard to the three Acts”.

It said that the totally peaceful and democratic nature of the movement has proved that the farmers are fully alive to their responsibility towards the country.IANS