Arvind Kejriwal says Centre ‘punished’ Delhi govt for supporting farmers’ protest

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday that the Centre “punished” the Delhi government by “handing power to the Lieutenant Governor” for standing with agitating farmers against the three new “black laws”. Kejriwal was addressing a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Haryana’s Jind district.

“They've introduced a bill in Parliament to punish Kejriwal. We faced repercussions for supporting farmer's protest. They are punishing us by passing the bill and handing power into LG's hands instead of the elected government. Did we fight freedom struggle for this?” Kejriwal said.

“BJP-led central govt conspired to put farmers coming to Delhi in jails created by converting 9 stadiums. But we were fortunate as the law stated that the power to convert the stadium into jail rests with Delhi’s chief minister,” the AAP chief added.

Kejriwal further said, “Centre sent me a file and kept on calling me. The central government started pressuring me by saying there will be a law and order issue. They even threatened to take away my power. I didn't listen to them and rejected their file. The BJP-led Centre government was extremely angry with me for rejecting their move to convert the stadiums into jails.”

Kejriwal started his Mahapanchayat by claiming that 300 individuals have died during the farmers’ stir, and added that their sacrifice should never be in vain. The Delhi chief minister told the crowd that AAP leaders were personally dispatched by him to the national capital’s borders for supporting the farmers’ cause but not under the banner of any political party.

“We salute the sacrifices of 300 people who died during the agitation (farmer's protest). It is our responsibility that their sacrifice does not go in vain,” said Kejriwal.

“A country which does not respect farmers will never be able to develop,” said Kejriwal pledging his support to the protesting farmers.

Last month, Kejriwal had attended two similar farmers' Mahapanchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut and Punjab's Moga.