After face-off at Rajasansi with farmers, BJP holds rallies sans any disruptions
Amritsar, May 17
Although BJP’s Taranjit Singh Sandhu faced protest on couple of occasions while campaigning in the rural areas, today he held two public rallies in the Majitha and Attari constituencies successfully without any such disruption.
On April 6, he faced protest at an Ajnala village and another on May 15 in Rajasansi. There are some areas in the district, where some kisan union cadre is good in number or some influential local leader is there to confront the BJP candidate. Otherwise, it seems that the farmers’ community don’t have any enmity with any particular candidate. Kisan union leaders claimed that most of the times farm labourers or non-agrarian communities organised the BJP event in the rural areas. They said farmer leaders don’t want to indulge in “caste politics” in villages, which might benefit the BJP.
Meanwhile, the district election office asked the official machinery to provide level playing field to all candidates by stopping disruption of political functions by farmer groups. The public meetings of the BJP are being held under the vigil of heavy police force. Despite deployment of the police personnel, members of Samyukt Kisan Morcha came close to the rally venue of BJP candidate Taranjit Singh Sandhu at Bhindi Saidan village near Rajasansi on Wednesday. However, the police present at the venue managed to stop farmers from getting into the rally pandal. With a 15-feet-wide road in between them, BJP leaders and farmers held their own programmes.
Sandhu said vested powers were behind these protests. He said genuine farmers were not part of these protests. He said the BJP had brought various benefits for farmers, including the Kisan Samman Nidhi and other schemes.
He said certain elements were trying to help other political parties in elections by defaming the BJP. Sandhu said he would continue to reach out to different sections of society. Sandhu said he met genuine farmers every day, who appreciated efforts of the Modi government to increase their income.
Activists of farmer union claimed that they don’t want any clash with the BJP, but want to question its leaders on issues such as killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, barricading of borders to stop farmers from reaching Delhi, use of teargas shells and pellet guns on farmers and brutal use of force on peaceful protesters.
Jatinder Singh Chinna of Kirti Kisan Union said, “What is wrong if we come to the BJP rally venue. We could have asked Sandhu questions related to our issues. No party has violated the Constitution more than the BJP. Farmers will continue to ask questions from the BJP candidates. Action against the saffron party candidates will continue.”
