If Dushyant Keeps Supporting BJP in Haryana, JJP MLAs Should Elect New Leader, Quit Govt: Surjewala
The Congress Sunday kept up the pressure on Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala over the ongoing farmers’ protest, saying if he is not ready to withdraw his JJP’s support to the BJP over the issue, his party MLAs should elect a new leader and quit the government. Congress general secretary and spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also said Chautala should not “hide behind the drama of holding talks with BJP leaders and Central ministers, and instead come forward to withdraw support to the Khattar government and resign as Deputy Chief Minister”.
Referring to the continuing protest by the farmers against the three new Central agri laws, he said, “This fight is not only of 62 crore farmers, but of all 130 crore people of this country. Therefore, in the interest of the people and for the success of the farmers’ agitation, I call upon JJP and its MLAs to immediately withdraw their support to the BJP government.” “If Dushyant Chautala is not prepared to leave the BJP, then JJP MLAs should call a meeting to elect a new leader and withdraw support from the Khattar government while supporting the farmers’ agitation,” he said in a statement issued here. If they fail to do so, he said, the people of Haryana will never forgive them and consider them “guilty of betrayal with the farmers”. Chautala had said on Saturday he was hopeful that the next round of talks between the Centre and farmer unions will take place in the next 24-48 hours.
After meeting Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in New Delhi, Chautala had said the crop procurement at the government-decided MSP (minimum support price) would be ensured to each farmer till the time he was part of the state government. Chautala had also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Food, Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday, and said the Haryana government is stable as of now. Chautala, who is already under pressure from the opposition and some Haryana farmers to withdraw from the BJP-led government in the state, after an informal meeting of the Khattar government here on Thursday, had said he will resign if the MSP system is threatened. Thousands of farmers have been protesting near Delhi’s borders for over a fortnight demanding a complete rollback of the three Central laws enacted in September.
Surjewala claimed Chautala has no time to talk to the agitating farmers which shows “his strange priorities”. “It is distinctly fresh in the memory of the people of Haryana as to how before Vidhan Sabha Elections in 2019, JJP and Dushyant Chautala used to be vocal about the corruption in the BJP government in Haryana (2014-19),” the Congress leader said. “After resorting to digging of roads, using tear gas, water cannons (during farmers’ Delhi Chalo march last month) and lathi charges on agitating farmers to throttle their agitation, the BJP-JJP government in Haryana adopted shameful tactics like branding the agitation as being sponsored by Khalistanis-China-Pakistan to defame this agitation. “Despite all those things, JJP and Dushyant Chautala are shamefully clinging to power. The fact remains that today the farmers of this country are fighting for their livelihood, two time meal and to protect their land and farming, but, sitting in the lap of the BJP after having garnered votes in the name of opposing BJP, the JJP has betrayed the voters, he alleged.
