Farmers’ protests triggered urban-rural divide: Jakhar
The state president of the BJP said blocked roads disrupted industrial operations, leading to massive financial losses.
BJP state president Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday slammed the state government for its “failure to control farmers’ protests”. Addressing a press conference in Jalandhar, Jakhar said the ongoing protests by farmer unions had created a division between urban and rural societies, and also between farmers and traders, who are facing huge financial losses due to the stir at the Shambhu border.
“The state government must explain what efforts it has made to persuade farmers to clear railway tracks and the national highway at Shambhu,” Jakhar said. He added that the so-called farmer leaders were holding ‘kangaroo courts’ to resolve issues between parties. “Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has given free licence to such leaders to take law and order in their hands. The state government has failed on the all administrative fronts as the farmers unions have resorted to blackmailing traders and people,” he said.
Later in the day in Ludhiana, he said some of the farmer leaders had become “extortionists” with the “patronage and collusion” of the state government. “They (farmer leaders) need to introspect. People will turn against them. They are defaming their own community,” Jakhar said in presence of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during an interaction with representatives of trade and industry in Ludhiana.
Jakhar reacted after representatives of the industry raised the issue of farmers “harassing” people, blocking highways and disrupting industrial operations leading to massive losses.
The state BJP president said the Punjab industry was operating under utter distress because of such protests.
