Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Thursday said the farmers’ protests seemed to have a “secret agenda” other than the opposition to the three farm laws as they had failed to point out any objections to the legislations. The All-India Kisan Sabha Haryana unit has objected to the Minister’s remarks as ‘outrageous’.
Mr. Vij’s statement comes in the wake of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s assertion on June 9 that the government was ready to resume talks with the farmers but the unions must point out their objections to the provisions of the three farm laws with sound logic.
Mr. Vij, in a statement to the press, said: “The farmers had been unable to point out objections even once in the dozen round of talks.
Speaking on the invitation to the farmers for talks, Mr. Vij said the Union government had so far kept all doors open for dialogue. He said Mr. Tomar had always kept the window of dialogue open.
Taking strong exception to the statement, Inderjit Singh, vice-president, Haryana, All-India Kisan Sabha, said Mr. Tomar’s statement was ‘deplorable’ and not in consonance with the willingness towards resumption of talks with the struggling farmers, while the remarks of the State Home Minister were even more ‘outrageous’. “This is highly provocative that he has yet again raised questions over the motives of the farmers’ movement. Ironically the public display of ignorance by Mr. Tomar over the stance of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha is nothing but his total incompetence of holding the charge of such a crucial portfolio of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare of our large country,” said Mr. Singh in a statement.