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Centre intimidating ‘Arthiyas’ for backing farmers: Pb CM

Calling recent IT raids on Punjab grain agents ‘motivated’ & ‘oppressive’, Capt alleges this is part of Modi govt’s ‘vendetta politics’ to ‘demolish farmers’ protest against agri laws by hook or by crook’

Centre intimidating ‘Arthiyas’ for backing farmers: Pb CM

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh (Photo: IANS)

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh today castigated the Narendra Modi led central government for its alleged intimidatory tactics against ‘Arhityas’ (grain commission agents) supporting the agitating farmers, and warned that such draconian measures will further aggravate the anger of the people against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Centre.

Terming the “clearly motivated” Income Tax (IT) raids against some Punjab Arhtiyas as an “obvious pressure tactic” to curb their democratic right and freedom, Capt Amarinder said these “oppressive actions” will backfire against the ruling BJP.

The CM said it was evident that having failed to persuade, mislead and divide the farmers into ending their prolonged protest against the Centre’s controversial farm laws, the Modi government was now trying to weaken their struggle by targeting the Arhtiyas, who have been actively supporting the farmers’ agitation since its very beginning.

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The IT raids were conducted at the premises of several big Arthityas of Punjab within a span of just four days of issuing notices, without waiting for responses to the notices, the CM noted, describing it as a “clear debasement of the due process of law”.

Even the local police were not informed or taken into confidence, as is the normal procedure, and instead, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was used to provide security during such raids by the I-T teams, he said.

“What is this if not a clear case of vendetta politics by the Centre, which is hell-bent on demolishing the farmers’ protest by hook or by crook?” asked the CM.

The night-long raids, which were conducted in the presence of two bus-loads each of CRPF personnel, at the premises of Vijay Kalra (president of Punjab Arthiya Association), Pawan Kumar Goyal (president of Samana Mandi), Jaswinder Singh Rana (president, Patiala ), Manjinder Singh Walia (president, Nawanshehar), Hardeep Singh Ladda (president, Rajpura) and Kartar Singh and Amrik Singh (Arthiyas, Rajpura). A total of 14 Arhtiyas across Punjab have received notices from the IT department. Capt Amarinder charged that this was not the first instance of “misuse” of a central agency by the BJP-led government to “browbeat dissidents into succumbing to its writ and diktats”. “These bullying actions of the government do not augur well for the world’s largest democracy,” he said. Pointing out that even the Supreme Court had upheld the people’s right to protest peacefully, the CM charged that the Modi government’s actions amounted to “gross violation” of the apex court’s directions and the spirit of the Constitution, which granted every citizen the right to raise his voice.

Capt Amarinder said it was “unfortunate” that instead of hearing the voices of the farmers, who have been battling cold and Covid for more than three weeks now while protesting against the Centre’s agri laws ~ with nearly 2 dozen of them losing their lives during their protest so far ~ the central government was resorting to all kinds of “cheap manoeuvres” to break their will. Punjab education minister Vijay Inder Singla also alleged that the Modi government was using all kinds of tactics to crush the ongoing farmers’ agitation against its new farm laws.

He said the raid of the Income Tax (IT) department at the house of the president, Federation of Arthiya (grain commission agent) Association of Punjab, Vijay Kalra, was part of such “vendetta politics”. Singla said the IT raids were being conducted on various commission agents of Punjab since Friday. He added that the farmers and commission agents have lived together in brotherhood for many years.

The minister said two buses full of CRPF personnel along with the team of the IT department raided the house of Kalra. Similarly, at Patiala the house of Patiala district president of the association, Rajendra Rana, also witnessed raids by the IT department with the CRPF jawans in tow.

Similar raids were conducted at the residence of Samana commission agent association president Pawan Bansal and that of Nawanshahr association president Bittu.

Singla said when Capt Amarinder and the Congress party raised voices against the three farm laws, the Enforcement Directorate sent notices to the CM and registered cases against him and his family members.

“Now when the Centre has not been able to control the farmers’ agitation, it has started conducting raids on presidents of commission agents across the Punjab,” he charged.

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