Farmers protest: AAP minister urges Centre to talk to farmers, says ‘if freedom fighters were watching…’

Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Gopal Rai on Monday criticised the central government’s strict security measures at Delhi’s borders in view of the farmers’ protest beginning on Tuesday.

Rai remarked that if freedom fighters witnessed these actions, they would “turn in their graves” and asked the Centre to instead hold talks with protesting farmers to resolve the issue promptly.

He emphasised that the farmers simply wish to enter Delhi, yet roads have been barricaded to impede their progress. Rai highlighted the level of security, suggesting that even the India-Pakistan border lacks such strong barriers.

At a press conference today, Rai said, “If freedom fighters were watching this, they would turn in their graves. The farmers want to come to Delhi and the roads have been barricaded to stop them. Perhaps such a strong wall has not been built even on the India-Pakistan border. This is like hitting nails into the hearts of the farmers.”

Rai highlighted the farmers’ crucial role in feeding the nation and condemned the government’s actions as an attack on their dignity.

Gopal Rai also slammed the BJP for boasting about providing ration to 80 crore people, highlighting that it’s the farmers who produce the crops. He said, “The Modi government claims to provide rations to 80 crore people. But are these rations produced in the BJP’s office? Wheat and rice, the staples of these rations, are produced by hardworking farmers. It’s unjust to reap political gains from the toil of our farmers.”

In Delhi, massive deployment of police and paramilitary personnel besides multi-layered barricading have been made to seal the national capital borders at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur to prevent the protesting farmers from entering the city on Tuesday.

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are set to march to Delhi on February 13, demanding the implementation of a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops, among other demands.