‘Illogical & frivolous’: CM Amarinder on AAP's demand to deploy Punjab Police for farmers

Lashing out at AAP over its demand to deploy Punjab Police force for the protection of agitating farmers at Delhi Borders, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday said, "Arvind Kejriwal’s party had clearly lost all sense of Constitutional and legal propriety, and was completely ignorant even on the law laid down by the highest court of the land."

A statement by Punjab CMO quoting the chief minister, read, "This demand is not only completely illogical and frivolous but against all principles and rules of the law".

Captain Amarinder's harsh reaction has come in response to AAP's letter to him, calling for police protection of the protesting farmers from Punjab. AAP leader Raghav Chada on Sunday wrote a letter to Captain Amarinder, demanding him to deploy police security at protesting campsites to ensure the safety of the farmers while alleging that "BJP goons engineered and executed attack on farmers".

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The Punjab chief minister pointed out that as per the Union Home Ministry directive and Supreme Court order, the Punjab Police cannot stay in another state for more than 72 hours even for a protectee.

"So, this would mean that even if I sign an order today declaring some, if not all, farmers out there as protectees, (which is really neither feasible nor realistic), that would mean the Punjab Police can only be with them for 72 hours and not more," he added according to the statement by the CMO.

Taking a jibe at the AAP over its demands, the Punjab CM further said, "This further means that as Chief Minister of Punjab, which I definitely am for all intents and purposes, howsoever much AAP may wish otherwise, my hands are tied by the law, which your party has clearly no respect for."

Captain Amarinder claimed that the letter from AAP is nothing more than a tactic by the party to divert public attention from its own role in the Red Fort violence, while further claiming that AAP leaders were caught on camera during the violence at the Red Fort on Republic Day. He even alleged collusion of AAP with BJP against the farmers, after the Delhi government notified one of the farm laws in the national capital.

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All party meeting called by Captain Amarinder

Captain Amarinder has called an all-party meeting on February 2 to discuss the recent developments in the national capital "especially in view of the Republic Day violence, the Singhu border attack on farmers, and the massive vilification campaign against them".

The farmers continue to protest at on the border areas of Delhi as the protest enters 67th day. If the Republic day violence wasn't enough, clashes broke out on Friday between the protesting farmers and the local villagers on the Singhu border who had come appeal to the farmers on Friday to vacate the protest area. The two sides pelted stones and attacked each other with sticks, leading to a further escalation in violence. The Delhi Police had to intervene which was met with stone-pelting. Thereafter, to control the escalating situation, the police was forced to lathi-charge the aggressive mob and fired tear gas shells. Several cops including SHO of Alipur suffered injuries in the clash at the Singhu Border.

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