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After 'leftists, Maoists', Union ministers warn against 'tukde tukde gang' in farmer protests

"Who are these people talking the language of breaking the country?" Prasad asked

PTI07-12-2020_000162B Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad | PTI

Speaking on the ongoing farmer protests against the new agri laws instituted by the Centre, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad warned against the infiltration of "tukde tukde gang [nation-breakers]" and warned that strict action will be taken against them. Prasad said: "They [those protesting farm laws] are saying that they will not withdraw their movement unless and until these laws are withdrawn. We would like to say that Narendra Modi government respects farmers but would like to make it clear that stern action will be taken against 'tukde tukde gang' taking advantage of farmers movement," Prasad said. "I want to ask who are these people who are talking the language of breaking the country. Now, demands are being raised to free those so-called intellectuals who are in jails for indulging in rioting in Delhi and Maharashtra."

This is not the first time that top leaders in the Centre have claimed the presence of unsavoury elements taking advantage of the protests. 

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had controversially stated that the farmers' protests against the Narendra Modi government has links to Khalistan militant group. "The state has inputs of some unwanted elements raising pro-Khalistan slogans in the ongoing farmers' protests in and around the national capital," Khattar said “They [farmers] raised such slogans. In videos they said jab Indira Gandhi ko ye kar sakte hain, to Modi ko kyu nahi kar sakte [When it can be done to Indira Gandhi, why not Modi?]," he said.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had asked protesting farmers to be vigilant against their platform being misused, saying some "anti-social" as well as "leftist and Maoist" elements were conspiring to spoil the atmosphere of the agitation. Photographs of some protesters at the Tikri border seen holding posters demanding release of activists arrested under various charges had gone viral. Union Minister Piyush Goyal had said that the agitation no longer remains a farmers' movement as it has been "infiltrated by leftist and Maoist elements" demanding the release of those put behind bars for "anti-national activities". This, he said, was clearly to derail agriculture reforms brought by the government.

The Congress party hit back. Senior leader P. Chidambaram took a swipe at the government, saying if it was terming the protesters Khalistanis, Maoists and agents of Pakistan and China, then why was it engaging them in talks. "Ministers have described the protesters against the farm laws as Khalistanis; agents of Pakistan and China; Maoists; and, the latest, tukde tukde gang. If you exhaust all these categories, it means there are no farmers among the thousands of protesters. If there are no farmers, why is the government talking to them," he asked on Twitter.

Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also said the Modi government should shed its "arrogance" and follow the raj dharma by withdrawing these "black laws" as they "threaten" the farming sector and the livelihood of farmers. "This is not a fight only for the livelihoods and the lives of 62 crore farmers, but for the 120 crore people who eat what the farmers produce. To term the protests political is a big insult to the food-growers of the country. The Modi government should shed arrogance and follow the Raj Dharma," he said. "It is wrong to say that the farmers' agitation is limited to Punjab and Haryana. The entire country is affected by these three black agri laws. In Madhya Pradesh, due to decrease in the business volume at the mandis, the tax collection of the board in one year has gone down from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 220 crore," Surjewala also said in a tweet in Hindi.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit out at the government over rising petrol prices, alleging the money earned from the tax on petrol is going in the Central Vista project, on buying a new aircraft for the prime minister and on promotional advertisements. 

Farmers are protesting against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country. The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of the big corporates. The Centre has maintained that MSP and mandi mechanisms will stay.

-Inputs from PTI

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