Punjabis taught Haryanvis how to raise voice peacefully against atrocities: Khap pardhan

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 13

The pardhan of Kandela khap, Tek Ram Kandela, said such a massive farm agitation (384 days long) has exposed the Central Government’s nefarious designs of defaming Punjabis with derogatory tags, including ‘Khalistanis’ and ‘anti-nationals’ , which ended up by bringing people from Punjab and Haryana closer.

He said residents of Kandela village located on Chandigarh-Jind Road were among the first ones in Haryana to actively participate in the farm agitation on Delhi border against the three agri laws.

He said the Punjabis taught their Haryanvi counterparts the tactics of raising their voice against the government’s atrocities.

“Before that, the Haryanvis always resorted to violent path when it comes to fight against the government policies and voice their concern. I am 85-year-old and I have never seen such a successful and powerful, yet non-violent agitation in my life. The Punjabis made us learn how to bring the government to its knees through dialogue and patience. We were impressed with the ‘langar’ tradition of the Punjabis, which continued to feed the agitators, despite several constraints,” he said.

Criticising the Centre sponsored media for defaming the farm agitation, he said, “The Centre had adopted all tactics to scuttle the farm agitation by tagging the farmers as ‘anti-nationals’ and ‘Khalistanis’, but never succeeded in it. The January 26 violence at Red Fort was the outcome of some disgruntled elements whereas it had nothing to do with the farm agitation,” said Kandela.

He said other issues like the guaranteed procurement on MSP and the Electricity Amendment Bill 2021, too, would be addressed across the table with the Centre.

He said the SYL Canal issue would be amicably settled between people of both the neighbouring states, if not on political platform.

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