Establish dialogue with protesting farmers to find a solution: Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda

The government should establish a dialogue with the protesting farmers and find a solution to their movement without any further delay, former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said. The solution is possible only through a dialogue and exchange of ideas in a democratic country, he pointed out.

Terming the Muzaffarnagar Kisan Mahapanchayat peaceful and successful, Hooda said that this has once again proved that the farmers were against the new farm laws which the NDA government was trying to enforce on them.

“The farmers have reiterated that they want the guarantee of MSP and hence, the government should resume the talks which have been stalled for the last seven months,” said Hooda.

“I have been supporting the demands of the farmers since day one. The farmers have launched a ‘Satyagraha’ to get their demands accepted. In a democracy, everyone has the right to protest peacefully in support of their demands,” he said.

Taking a dig at the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government in Haryana, Hooda said that no state government has conducted such a barbaric lathi-charge against the farmers and this was an exceptional incident in

Haryana. “The BJP-JJP government has proved to be the biggest anti-farmer government in the country as it has repeatedly used brutal force against the farmers in Karnal, Hisar, Rohtak, Pipli and some other places also,” he said.

“This is why the government has not yet taken action against those who lathi-charged the farmers in Karnal, despite repeated demands. Nor was the Congress demand for judicial inquiry supervised by a sitting judge of the High Court or a retired judge of the entire incident was accepted,” added Hooda.

On the issue of by-elections, Hooda said the government was deliberately delaying the Ellenabad by-polls and panchayat polls in the state and it seemed to be deliberately avoiding elections. “The government knows that the people are disillusioned with them. There is anger in every section, including the farmers, against the policies of the alliance,” he said.