Ravneet Bittu targets farmer unions in the runup to bypolls, parties target him

Having campaigned for the Gidderbaha Assembly bypoll, Bittu was in Chandigarh for a meeting on Sunday morning. At a poll meeting, he advocated the legalisation of poppy husk farming in Punjab, aligning with demands from many farmers who seek to follow Rajasthan’s example. Currently, poppy husk is regulated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. His statement received applause from farmers.

However, Bittu’s comments on union leaders have not been well received, prompting farmers to stage dharnas outside the BJP’s office in Gidderbaha and at other locations across the state. Sarwan Singh Pandher, coordinator of e Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, said, “The BJP government has been in power for the past 11 years. So who is stopping you from investigating our properties? We are not scared of your statements.”

Bittu is facing backlash not only from farmer unions but also from Opposition parties, and some members of his own party have been forced to assert the BJP is a pro-farmer party.

Harjeet Singh Grewal, vice-president of the party, stated, “The BJP is always with the farmers, and PM Narendra Modi’s government has introduced many schemes for them. Our ideas may not align with those of the farmer union leaders, but we think about the welfare of farmers. The farmer unions fight for small and marginal farmers who cannot raise their own issues. However, if the farmer unions have felt offended by any of our comments, we apologise for that.”

Grewal’s comments did not name Bittu but came shortly after the minister’s statements went viral.

BJP state general secretary Anil Sarin said, “The BJP is a party that always thinks about the welfare of farmers. We have launched numerous schemes for them, such as Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana and various subsidies. We are a pro-farmer party, and farmers are beginning to realise this in Punjab.”

Sarin also refrained from commenting on Bittu’s remarks.

When contacted by The Indian Express, Bittu said, “I never said anything to the farmers. They understand everything and are supporting us as well. It is the farmer union leaders who have never been with us. They are not even ready to engage with the Government on any issue. The actual farmers busy sowing wheat these days know everything. We campaign in villages and are well aware of this. Farmers are meeting us and not protesting against us.”

‘Opportunist frequently switching parties’

Meanwhile, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ugrahan, Punjab’s largest farmer union, said, “We urge Bittu to stop making baseless and provocative statements against farmer organisations. The mudslinging tactics commonly used in electoral politics should not be applied to farmer leaders. Bittu’s unfounded accusations of farmers amassing properties through their struggle are an insult to the historical farmers’ movement, which has witnessed numerous sacrifices. Properties are amassed by opportunist politicians like Bittu, who, out of greed, frequently switch parties.”

BKU Ugrahan general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said, “The BJP’s government intends to silence the farmers’ movement by imposing false cases under harsh laws like the National Security Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The farmers have not forgotten that the Government can fabricate any lie to suppress dissent. Currently, Punjab’s farmer organisations stand as a leading force within the national farmers’ movement, challenging the BJP’s authoritarian agenda and opposing government plans to allow corporate control over the agricultural sector.”

Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union too condemned the statements as Lachhman Singh Sewewala, its general secretary, said, “He is the same Bittu who used to speak against Modi when the protest against farm laws was going on and now has taken an opportunistic U-turn. Such statements by a BJP leader show the panic in the party.

SAD’s question for BJP

The Shiromani Akali Dal, the BJP’s former ally, also asked the party to clarify whether it supports Bittu’s comparison of farmers protesting against cuts in procurement and the fertiliser shortage to the Taliban.

Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said, “It is shocking that Ravneet Bittu is equating farmers with the Taliban and threatening them with registration of false cases even as the BJP is mum on this issue. The party should make it clear whether the hatred being spread by Bittu has its blessings or is the personal agenda of the MP.”

State Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, “Shocked by the lengths Ravneet Singh Bittu has gone to since changing political allegiance—from voicing opinions against the BJP to now labelling farmers as ‘Taliban’ and threatening them with inquiries. All for what? To appease those above and secure ministerial positions? This is a shameful betrayal of Punjab’s backbone.

“Farmers deserve respect and support, not intimidation. In a true democracy, leaders uplift voices, not suppress them. Ravneet Bittu, you should be ashamed of losing your integrity for personal gain!”

The ruling AAP’s chief spokesperson, Neel Garg, alleged that Bittu was the face of a BJP conspiracy against farmers. “The BJP’s cheap politics in the last two years has had the only objective of taking revenge on farmers for leading the agitation against farm laws. Bittu’s threats are part of that cheap politics. The BJP is having deep rooted conspiracy against the farmers of Punjab and it seems that Bittu is the face of that conspiracy,” Garg said.

In August, while speaking to reporters, Bittu alleged that farmer leaders were getting foreign funding. He also claimed that union leaders, not actual farmers, were behind the agitation, drawing sharp reactions.

On November 7, Bittu had a war of words with Raja Warring after he made a “lipstick and bindi” remark about his own wife Amrita Warring, who is the Congress candidate in Gidderbaha.

Speaking in Sukhna Ablu village during election campaigning, the Congress state chief said, “She goes out at 6 am wearing lipstick and a bindi and returns at 11 pm…”

Bittu said the remarks reflected Warring’s poor opinion of women who go out to work. However, Amrita defended her husband and urged Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to reconsider the positions given to people who display a “filthy mindset” towards women in leadership.