Kejriwal hosts KCR for lunch; CMs meet farmers in Chandigarh

Farmers can change government if they want and they should keep fighting till they get a constitutional guarantee for remunerative prices of their crops, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao said in Chandigarh on Sunday.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief, popularly known as KCR, also paid tributes to the farmers who died during the course of the agitation against the now-repealed central farm laws.

“If farmers want, they can change government. It is not a big thing. From where the power comes, it comes from us,” he said. “Agitation should continue till farmers get the right price and there is a constitutional guarantee for it.”

KCR, who was accompanied by Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, also lauded the contribution of Punjab to the freedom struggle and bringing green revolution in the farming sector. “Punjab is a great state,” said Rao.

The three chief ministers also paid tributes to the slain soldiers of Indian army from Punjab who died fighting against the Chinese army in Galwan valley, two years ago.

Referring to the year-long farmers’ protests near Delhi borders , KCR said he bowed to farmers for their grit and determination. Rao was in Chandigarh to distribute ₹3 lakh as financial assistance to the kin of farmers from Punjab and Haryana, who died during the stir.

Telangana CM, Kejriwal and Mann jointly handed over cheques worth ₹3 lakh to 24 farmer families from Punjab and five from Haryana.

Thanking KCR for offering compensation to the farmers Mann, said the step is “worth appreciating” . “It is ironical that a farmer who owns the most fertile land with the highest yield was living in penury. On the contrary, his peers on foreign shores owning a land with least fertility due to harsh climatic conditions are leading an affluent life,” Mann said.

Slamming the government, Mann said, “Why could not they implement farmer friendly initiatives.” “The families in villages of Punjab are a true story of “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” – as one son is protecting the nation on the borders while the other is working to fulfil country’s food needs,” Mann said.

Kejriwal said that there was pressure on his government by the Centre to stall the farmers’ agitation by converting all the stadiums of Delhi into open jails so as to put them (farmers) in jails. “I know the significance of any mass movement as I was also a part of the ‘Anna Andolan’ and therefore didn’t buckle under the central government’s pressure,” he added.

The farmers from all across the country, mainly from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh protested against the now-repealed Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act passed by Parliament in 2020.

At least 700 farmers died during the course of the agitation at the Delhi borders due to various reasons, including harsh winter, accidents and ailments.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal met KCR at his official residence in the national Capital and discussed a range of issues, including the current political and federal issues, a meeting that assumes significance in the wake of building political equations ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri @ArvindKejriwal hosted Hon’ble Chief Minister of Telangana, Shri K. Chandrashekar Rao at his residence for lunch, today,” the Delhi CM’s Office tweeted.

On Saturday, KCR, accompanied by Kejriwal, visited schools and mohalla clinics of the Delhi government. He also met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Rao is on a week-long tour to Delhi to attend national-level political and social programmes.

(With agency inputs)