Asserting that he was prepared to resign or be dismissed rather than bow to injustice towards Punjab’s farmers, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday warned of possible disruption of the state’s peace and threat to national security as a result of the farm laws, pointing out that nobody can tolerate religious hurt and attack on livelihood.
“I am not afraid of resigning. I am not afraid of my government being dismissed. But I will not let the farmers suffer or be ruined,” said the CM,
pointing out that he had chosen to quit at the time of Operation Blue Star instead of accepting or endorsing the assault on Sikh ethos.
Cautioning the Centre against allowing the situation to get out of hand, Amarinder said if the farm laws are not revoked, angry youth can come out on the streets to join the farmers, leading to chaos.
The way things are going on at present, the situation has the potential to disturb the peaceful atmosphere, he warned, observing out that this is what had happened in the 80s and 90s. Both China and Pakistan will collude and try to take advantage of any disruption of the state’s peace, which would pose a serious threat to national security, the CM added.
The CM said he was uneasy and upset over the situation and wanted to understand the Centre’s decision to cause such suffering to the farmers amid the Covid crisis. He said this in the Assembly while presenting his government’s four Bills to negate the Union government’s farm laws, on the second day of the special session of the House.
“In the name of farming laws, we have actually enacted trade laws. It is not farmers who will have access to a national market, but traders. Hence, the use of term “trade area” in the so-called Farmers legislations is also very telling,” said Amarinder presenting his government’s four Bills for consideration of the House.
Later, in a major show of strength, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, flanked by leaders of Punjab Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal, on Tuesday expressed the optimism that the Governor will listen to the voice of Punjab but said his government was all set to take legal recourse if VPS Badnore does not sign the amendment Bills passed in the Assembly to save the farmers and agriculture.
Asked about the possibility of the Centre imposing President’s Rule in the state to scuttle the attempts to negate the farm laws, Amarinder said “let’s wait and see…we will move step by step.”
However, if the situation came to such a pass, the Centre would not need to dismiss him as he was carrying his resignation in his pocket and would give it willingly, rather than compromising on the interests of Punjab and its farmers, he told reporters.
The CM said his government will be bringing more pro-farm and pro-poor Bills in the House tomorrow. He was addressing reporters outside Punjab Raj Bhavan after meeting the Governor and handing over to him copies of the Resolution and the state Bills which the Assembly had earlier passed unanimously.