Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab state president and MP Bhagwant Mann levelled serious allegations against Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh

Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab state president and MP Bhagwant Mann has levelled serious allegations against Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for being a mute spectator to the ongoing battle being waged by the farmers of Punjab, saying that he (Chief Minister) had taken not a single initiative to address the concerns of the struggling farmers.

He said that the CM had always flip-flopped on issue of repealing of the contentious central agriculture laws pushed by the government at the centre.

Bhagwant Mann

Bhagwant Mann accused Captain Amarinder Singh of indulging in skulduggery with the farmers caring two hoots for their genuine concerns. Mann said that he had either maintained a stoic silence over the issue or resorted to playing cheap gimmicks to fool the farmers, due to which not only the farming fraternity but also the other sections were subjected to face the consequences.

In a statement issued from the party headquarters here in Chandigarh on Wednesday, Bhagwant Mann said, “Captain Amarinder Singh, who has been a mute witness to the farmers’ long-drawn struggle from day one, pretending to be ignorant about the issue on the ground creating illusions that the stalemate is between the between the Union government and the farmers and that the state government has no role to play in the matter, which speaks volumes of his non-serious stance”

Bhagwant Mann said that by doing so he was trying to mislead the farmers with intent to weaken the peasants’ struggle on the one hand while supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in clearing the passage for the implementation of the draconian farm laws on the other hand, which was why he did not meet either the Prime Minister, the Union Railway Minister or the Home Minister to have the stalemate resolved.

Bhagwant Mann, Narendra Modi and Captain Amarinder SinghMann reiterated that before and after the enactment of these bills in Parliament, Capt. Amarinder Singh had promised to lead a delegation of all political parties to the Prime Minister to contest the anti-people laws, which never materialised, Mann added.

The AAP MP alleged that Capt Amarinder Singh was acting as a mere puppet in the hands of PM Modi, due to his innumerable personal and political ‘weaknesses’, including rampant corruption, money laundering involving his son, stacking huge money in foreign bank accounts and his foreign guests, adding it was tantamount to backstabbing the peasants and derailing their struggle for survival.

Mann said that he (Amarinder Singh) could have acted as a plank between the Center and the farmers to find a viable solution to the agrarian crisis, by ensuring legal guarantee of purchase of all crops at MSP.

Bhagwant Mann Bhagwant Mann said that Captain Amarinder Singh should do his bit as chief minister to protect the interests of the farmers by churning out a lasting solution to the imbroglio, and ensuring legal guarantee to the farmers on  procurement of all crops at MSP by bringing in its own legislation, saying that he should convene a special session of Vidhan Sabha to debate the issue at length and clearing the passage for its own legislation, adding that the farmers of Punjab could not be left to the mercy of corporate houses and the Central Government.

The AAP MP said that by procrastinating on the farmers’ issue had brought forth the anti-farmer face of Captain Amarinder Singh, saying that if he still indulged in delay tactics on taking a concrete decision by broaching the issues with the central leadership, he should step down as chief minister.