Centre upset since we didn’t allow it to convert stadiums into prisons: Delhi CM Kejriwal
NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday alleged that Centre had been making all attempts to weaken the agitation against the three farm laws by putting farmers into makeshift prisons in nine stadiums, but the Delhi government made it did not happen.
After hours of protests by the AAP for allegedly putting Kejriwal under house arrest, the CM addressed party members and claimed the Centre tried its best to ensure that he does not step out as his plan was to sit in solidarity with the protesting farmers. The AAP alleged that the Delhi Police had put Kejriwal under house arrest after he met protesting farmers at the Singhu border, a claim denied by the city police.
“The Centre was upset because we did not allow them to convert the stadiums into jails and are making arrangements for the farmers. I salute the farmers for sleeping on the roads at night in such a chilling weather. We are doing whatever we can to help them. Because of our efforts, the Centre has been trying to stop me from going out for the last two days,” said Kejriwal.
“If I was not stopped, I would have gone and supported the protesting farmers in their Bharat Bandh movement. I am glad that Bharat Bandh was a success,” he said. Remembering his days as an activist under the leadership of Anna Hazare, he said: “I suddenly couldn’t help, but recall the Anna Andolan, and how we were put in these big stadiums which were converted into jails. They had put us in jails and tried to weaken the movement. I knew that they would do the same with the farmers.”
Little impact of bandh on Noida business
The Bharat Bandh had little impact on trade and business activities in Noida, as the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration deployed heavy security and pressed drones into service to keep an eye on the situation. Scores of farmers, however, continued their protest against the three farm laws at the Noida-Delhi border. The Sector 18 market generally remains closed on Tuesdays, but the shops that open nonetheless did open this Tuesday as well, while the adjacent Atta Market was also on. Similar situation prevailed in Greater Noida and elsewhere in the district.
Lawyers hold protests in solidarity
While lawyers at Karkardooma district courts held a protest march raising slogans to take back the laws, lawyers at Tis Hazari courts held a meeting in solidarity with the farmers and put forward certain demands on their behalf. At the Tis Hazari, Rajiv Khosla, chief coordinator of the action committee of the Bar Council of Delhi, said the government should put a condition in the farm laws that private firms pay 5% above the MSP for farm produce, and in case of default they may be subjected to criminal action ranging from 3-5 year punishment.
Rousing slogans reverberate at Tikri Border
Rousing slogans and speeches reverberated through the air at Tikri Border. “Amendments are just a ploy to cut short our protest and send us back home,” said Sikander Khan, who has been camping at the Delhi-Haryana border since the last three days. A small farmer from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, Khan makes his living by growing wheat, jowar and mustard on his four acres of land, which he is afraid is threatened by the new farm laws. He said the private entities might initially offer a higher price for their produce, forcing the ‘arhtiyas’ or local middlemen in the mandis to shut shop, following which the corporates will pay the farmers peanuts for the crops.