Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday said that the journalists and social workers, supporting the farmers were forcibly arrested by the police

Chandigarh: Reacting to the illegal arrest of social activist Nodeep Kaur by the Haryana Police, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday said that the journalists and social workers, supporting the farmers were forcibly arrested by the police. He said that this was very unfortunate and an undemocratic move.

"Nothing can be more shameful for a democratic country, that Nodeep Kaur, a social activist who was protesting peacefully with the farmers, who had been fighting for the rights of the farmers and labourers for many years, was forcibly arrested by the Haryana Police on January 12 by registering false case of attempt to murder.

Harpal Singh Cheema

According to the agitators, she was sexually harassed in police custody and had not been released yet. Cheema appealed to the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to talk to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for the immediate release of Nodeep Kaur and ensure her release.

Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Cheema said that Modi, first tried to suppress the voice of the agitating farmers. "The whole country saw how BJP leaders called them Khalistani, terrorists, agents of Pakistan and China, to discredit the farmers. They were also attacked, but when the Modi government could not suppress the voice of the farmers, they are trying to crush the farmers' movement by forcibly arresting and threatening the social workers and journalists, by filing false cases against them," he said.

Harpal Cheema

Cheema said that the silence of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on the arrest of social activist Nodeep Kaur was surprising. "People all over Punjab are campaigning for the release of Nodeep Kaur, but Captain is still silent on her case, " he added. He further said that the Modi government was adopting new ways to discredit farmers and suppress their movement every day.

"Sometimes farmers are subjected to attacks by the goons of BJP and sometimes they are lathicharged. Today, if any of the social activists and journalists speak in support of the farmers, the BJP government arrests them by implicating them in UAPA, treason or other false cases, " he said.

The AAP leader said that hundreds of people of Punjab were still missing since January 26, but the Chief Minister of Punjab did not utter a word on such a serious matter nor did he take any step for the people suffering from the atrocities of the Modi government.

Harpal Cheema"Far from criticizing Modi-Shah, he is now taking the name of Pakistan in the farmers' movement like a BJP leader. Captain's words clearly show that he has done a deal with the Modi government, that is, the release of his son from the ED cases in exchange for ending the farmers' movement, " he added.

Cheema appealed to Captain Amarinder, saying that he can do whatever deal he wants to do with Modi-Shah, but should talk to Haryana's BJP Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for immediate release of social worker Nodeep Kaur and get her released at the earliest.