Centre should apologise to farmers and take back Bills: AAP leader Sanjay Singh

NEW DELHI: After overnight sit-in protest in the Parliament complex, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh on Tuesday said that the government should apologise for forcing through the farm Bills in the Rajya Sabha. He said that the party is going to fully support the farmers agitation expected to be held in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab on September 25. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has given the instructions on this matter, he added. 

Singh is one of the eight MPs who were suspended  for the remaining part of the Monsoon Session over ‘unruly behaviour’ during the passage of the farm Bills in the Upper House of Parliament. Singh said that AAP, which has a good presence in Punjab, has been lending support to the protesting farmers in the state from the past few days. 

Responding to Modi’s tweet, Singh said he was ‘humbly’ returning the tea and requesting the government to return the farmers’ morsels. “We are not fighting for our tea. We are fighting for the morsels of our farmers which you have taken away. I humbly request you - I am returning your tea with all due respect, please return our farmers’ morsel,” Singh tweeted. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had showered praises on Deputy Rajya Sabha chairman, Harivansh Singh for the gesture, saying his ‘inspiring’ and ‘statesmanlike’ conduct will make every democracy lover proud. AAP MLA Raghav Chadha also said that the Central government is running a false- propaganda and “mocking the oppressed farmers”.

Chadha said that the 2015-2016 agricultural survey says that around 80% of farmers in India have less than 2 acres of land. “Those farmers cannot even carry their produce from their villages to other villages for selling. Will those farmers read and understand this ad with their morning cappuccinos? Is this not unwanted and unnecessary spending of the taxpayer’s money?” added the AAP spokesperson.