Chandigarh, Nov 2 (IANS): Several Punjab Cabinet Ministers on Monday hit out at the BJP over what they dubbed "atrocious" charges against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, saying BJP state leadership was "misleading farmers and spreading shocking lies" to save their won skin on the "draconian" central farm laws.
"Not only is the BJP in Punjab trying desperately to fool the farmers with regard to the agricultural laws but also their leaders and workers are actively indulging in brazen falsehoods in a bid to exploit the sensitive and critical issue to promote their political interests," the Ministers said in a joint statement here.
The fact of the matter was that the BJP was trying to incite farmers against the Chief Minister for their own political gains, they alleged.
In a hard-hitting reaction to Punjab BJP President Ashwani Sharma's accusations against Amarinder Singh, the Ministers said that it was obvious that BJP leaders were either oblivious to the concerns of the farmers or simply did not care.
"The farmers don't need any instigation. They are hurt and shocked at the treatment meted out to them by the BJP-led central government. They are fighting to save their livelihood and to survive. But clearly, Sharma, like other BJP leaders, has no realisation of this," they said.
The Ministers scoffed at the accusation that the Congress government was responsible for continued farmer protests and suspension of goods trains in Punjab.
"Did we also mislead all those BJP leaders who quit in protest against the farm laws in recent days?" they asked, trashing Sharma's accusation that the Chief Minister was misleading farmers as "ridiculous to the extreme".
Recalling that the Centre had not suspended movement of trains in Punjab even during the dark days of terrorism, the Ministers said that law and order cited by the Railways in the present instance was inexplicable, especially since Punjab farmers had already announced their decision to allow transport of supplies by trains.
Pointing out that security and safety of trains was Railway Protection Force's duty, with the state having no say in the matter, the Ministers asked what the Amarinder government had to do with the safe movement of trains.
"This is not the first time tracks had been blocked by farmers in a state," they said, adding that instances of such blockades had been reported in many places, irrespective of the party in power even in the past.
"So does that mean the Chief Minister of that state is responsible?" they asked.
Punjab's industry and agriculture is suffering, while the state economy -- already severely impacted by the Centre's failure to release GST-related dues amid Covid-19 -- is further crashing due to suspension of goods trains, the Ministers pointed out.