Withdraw farm laws: Punjab’s all-party meeting

NEW DELHI: An all-party meeting called by Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has sought withdrawal of the three central farm laws. The meeting in Chandigarh on Tuesday was attended by Congress, AAP, SAD, Lok Insaaf Party, SAD Democratic Party, BSP, CPI and CPM. BJP boycotted the meeting and AAP walked out before the resolution was passed, after Singh rejected its unconstitutional demand that Punjab Police be deployed at Singhu and other borders.

“After demanding more federal powers for states, how can we do such a thing? What will you do if Himachal Pradesh and Haryana Police come to Punjab,” the CM asked AAP’s representative. Opposition leader Harpal Singh Cheema of AAP asked the CM to hold a dharna outside the PM’s residence. “The CM should ask for an appointment with the PM, and if he doesn’t get one, he should sit on a protest outside the PM's residence. The state needs to send a strong message to the Centre,” Cheema said at the meeting.

“We will bring the bills again as the Constitution makes it mandatory for the governor to send a bill to the President if it is passed twice by the assembly,” the CM said. Shiromani Akali Dal’s Prem Singh Chandumajra suggested that the government waive loans of families who lost a member during the ongoing agitation. Punjab BJP president Ashwini Sharma told ET: “This was just a drama by the Congress government to divert attention from the poor law and order situation in the state.”