New Delhi, January 4: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha on Monday lashed out at Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar and compared him to former British Military officer General Dyer 'over tear gas shelling on farmers in Haryana.'
Referring to videos of the use of teargas by the Haryana Police, Chadha said, "I initially thought the footage was from the India-Pakistan border, where firing had started." Raghav Chadha Claims 'BJP Goons' Attacked Delhi Jal Board Office; AAP Alleges Party's Delhi Chief Adesh Gupta Led the Mob.
"I was reminded of April 13, 1919, when General Dyer ordered the opening of fire at Jallianwala Bagh, and innocent people were fired upon. Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar, like general Dyer, was raining bullets, teargas on farmers," Chadha said while talking to ANI.
"Are the country's farmers our enemies? Are they Army personnel of China or Pakistan? It's shameful," Chadha added. Ahead of the seventh round of talks on the contentious farm laws between protesting farmers' unions and the Central government on Monday afternoon, he said that the government should not make this issue an ego or prestige battle.
"This meeting should be the last meeting and the government should take a decision in support of the farmers," he added.
With concerns that farm laws would weaken the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and mandi systems and leave the farmers at the mercy of big corporates, farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital for over a month against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.