Mayawati slams Amarinder Singh over letter to PM regarding farmers' protest

LUCKNOW: BSP president Mayawati on Saturday targeted Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the ongoing farmers' agitation.

"The letter written by the Congress CM of Punjab to the PM, expressing various apprehensions about the farmers' agitation is a conspiracy to defame the movement of the farmers, who are sacrificing their lives to get the new agricultural laws repealed, and pursue electoral politics under its guise.

This is most unfair," she said in a tweet in Hindi.

Taking the Centre's cooperation on challenges faced by the government of a border state is not unreasonable, but pursuing selfish electoral politics under its garb and defaming the farmers' movement are something the public understands well, Mayawati added.

"The Congress is not going to reap any benefit by doing this," she said.

Singh had on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately resume talks with agitating farmers, sending him a letter that cited "cross-border threat" by ISI-backed groups ahead of the state assembly polls.

In the letter, the chief minister cited "heightened cross-border threat and increased drone and other terrorist activities by ISI-backed groups, including plans by Khalistani outfits to target certain farmer leaders".

He warned that powers across the border "may try to play upon the charged emotions of our proud, sincere, and hardworking farmers" of Punjab.