Leaders slam Haryana police for action on protesting farmers in Karnal

Several leaders have slammed the Haryana police lathi-charge on a farmers’ protest in Karnal. Many farmers were injured after the police on Saturday resorted to lathi charge against those who were protesting a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Haryana chief minister has also received flak for defending the police action in Karnal, saying they promised a peaceful protest but hurled stones and blocked highways.

Comparing the BJP-led Central and state government with “Talibanis”,
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait lashed out at the government.

“Yesterday, an officer ordered (policemen) to hit farmers on their heads. They call us Khalistani. If you would call us Khalistani and Pakistani, we would say ‘Sarkari Talibani’ has occupied the country. They are Sarkari Talibanis,” Tikait said.

After incident, a video went viral on social media, tweeted by Pilibhit’s BJP MP Varun Gandhi, in which Karnal sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Ayush Sinha could be seen instructing policemen to “crack their (protesting farmers’) heads” to prevent them from breaching the security barrier.

Opposition leader of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda, demanded an inquiry into the incident and said police action “shows the anti-farmer mindset of the state government.’’

“It was a pre-planned attack,” he said, adding, “First, the state government creates conditions for the clash with farmers and then uses undemocratic, inhuman and cruel means against them.”

Taking it to Twitter, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called out police violence against protesting farmers in Karnal, said it was a ‘shame’ that the farmers have to “shed blood”.

Gandhi shared a farmer’s photo who was injured in the protest, with a caption in hindi, “Again the blood of farmers is shed. India bows its head in shame.”

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the saffron party government in the state was treating farmers like General Reginald Dyer (behind the Jallianwala Bagh massacre), denying to allow them to protest peacefully against contentious farm laws.

Slamming his Haryana counterpart Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh criticized them for “unleashing brazen brutality of the police on the peacefully protesting farmers, many of whom were injured in the lathi-charge,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.

Criticising CM Khattar, Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik demanded an apology for the lathi charge on farmers.

Taking it to Twitter, Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav condemned the Haryana government. “They (farmers) were protesting against the visit of CM Khattar and other BJP leaders to Karnal. This is the true face of Haryana police,” he tweeted.

Deputy CM of Haryana, Dushyant Chautala condemned the violence and promised action against SDM Sinha for his controversial instructions to police against the protesting farmers.

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