NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday announced it would hold a protest outside Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's residence in Karnal on Sunday morning over the new farm laws.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP and Haryana affairs incharge Sushil Gupta said that his party's farmers' cell would 'gherao' Khattar's residence around 11 am.
He said that the AAP was fighting against the "anti-farmer and anti-labour laws" got passed by the central government in Parliament, adding that party volunteers were arriving in Haryana to participate in this protest.
Gupta alleged that Khattar had always taken "anti-farmer stands".
"Today, the farmers are facing difficulties in selling their paddy crop. In Haryana, around 1, 500 to 2, 000 kg millet is produced in one acre of land but the farmers are not getting more than Rs 850 per kg due to the BJP government's anti-farmer policies.
"Farmers are constantly harassed in the name of portals, e-payment, registration, gate pass of mandis and in other ways. In the last 15 days, farmers had to take the streets."
The AAP leader pointed out that Haryana and Punjab were agrarian states where more than 70 per cent people were directly and indirectly connected to agriculture.
"These are the only states where the farmers get 60 per cent of the Minimum Support Price on crops. At the same time, in other states, only six per cent of the grain is sold at MSP. But now, through these new laws, the central government wants to end the mandi system in Haryana and Punjab, " the member of Parliament claimed.
Noting that farmers in Bihar own good land, get water for irrigation and also produce good crops, Gupta said they come to Haryana and Punjab to work just because of lack of remunerative MSPs on their crops in their native states.
"The BJP-led central government also wants to bring a similar situation in Haryana and Punjab, " the MP alleged.
"The government wants to benefit the industrialists... Farmers are protesting against this conspiracy of the government and the Aam Aadmi Party is with the farmers."
Gupta also accused the Haryana government of failure in checking crimes, saying it has become a state "full of criminals".