Congress, Left fueling farm protests; door open for talks: BJP

The resolution was passed in the first meeting of the BJP's new set of national office-bearers and it was chaired by party chief J P Nadda

The BJP on Sunday hit out at the Congress and the Left parties, accusing them of fueling the farmers’ agitation against agricultural reforms even as it held the door open for fresh round of talks with the protesters.

The BJP, at a meeting of its newly appointed national office bearers, passed a resolution thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating the farm sector reforms and steering the nation as it “successfully” dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Briefing reporters on the day-long deliberations, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh said the farmers' agitation on the borders of the national capital was “politically driven” and accused the Congress and the Left parties of fueling it in a bid to “keeping it alive”.

Singh, a BJP vice president, said the central government was aware of the seriousness of the farmers’ issue, particularly in a border state like Punjab, and had kept the doors open for talks with the farmers. However, he asked the agitating farmers to highlight the shortcomings in the farm laws and not just insist on a complete repeal of the laws.

“The issue is the shortcomings in the three laws, let them spell out the lacunae and not just insist on repeal,” Singh said.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had sought an “urgent resolution” to the farmers’ agitation contending that the state had witnessed a surge in smuggling of weapons from across the border over the past five to six months.

During the meeting, the prime minister asked BJP office bearers to explain the benefits of farm laws to the people. The political resolution was passed thanking the prime minister for the reforms in the agriculture sector and his able leadership in effective handling of the pandemic, Singh said.

He said the resolution also highlighted the Garib Kalyan Yojana during the pandemic, comprehensive budget and diligent handling of the situation on the Line of Actual Control with China.