NEW DELHI: Amid massive protests by agitating farmers, the Centre and the Punjab government appear to have entered into a face-off with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sending a stern advisory asking the AAP-ruled state to take action to ensure peace and order, whereas the Chief Secretary retorted saying the police maintained peace despite Haryana cops injuring 160 protesting farmers.
In a strong worded response, the Punjab government said it was “completely wrong” to say that the government was allowing people to gather at Shambhu and Dhabhi-Gurjan borders.
Responding to the MHA advisory, sources said, Punjab Chief Secretary Anurag Verma has written that despite over 160 people being injured because of the use of tear gas shells, rubber bullets, drones and physical force by the Haryana Police, the state government has maintained the law and order situation “with responsibility”.
According to sources, in the letter it has also been claimed that the state government has not received the orders passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court the previous day, in which it had asked the farmers not to use tractor-trolleys on the road. “The order has not been uploaded on the court’s website either,” it added.
In the letter, the chief secretary also maintained that the administration needed to show more sympathy towards the farmers and law and order should be handled in a more sensitive manner during protests because Punjab is a border state.
Pointing out that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had attended three of the four meetings between the Centre and the farmers, in the letter it is stated that the Punjab government played an important role in the negotiations.
According to sources, in the letter, the CS also mentioned that 2,000 policemen, including DIG-rank IPS and Provincial Police Service officers from the Punjab Police have been working to maintain peace and order.
Meanwhile, in its communication to the Punjab government, the MHA said, it was estimated that nearly 14,000 people have gathered along the Punjab-Haryana border with 1,200 tractor-trolleys, 300 cars, 10 mini-buses as well as small vehicles. The Ministry conveyed its strong objections to the Punjab government for allowing this, the sources said.
The MHA also said that the deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state has been a matter of concern over the last few days and asked the government to take stringent action against lawbreakers, as many miscreants in the guise of farmers have been indulging in stone-pelting, mobilising heavy machinery along Punjab side of the Shambhu border with Haryana.
Protesting farmers have been staying put at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab’s border with Haryana after their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press the Centre for their various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. They have been stopped by security forces, which led to clashes last week.