© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
In the standoff between agitating farmer organisations and the Central government, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has emerged as an unlikely mediator.
The farmer unions brought in CM Mann as a mediator in their talks with the BJP-ruled Centre over their various demands that include a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt waiver.
As a senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, CM Mann is seen by farm protesters as being in confrontation with the Centre just like them, especially given that he has been taking on the Narendra Modi government and Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit over the Centre’s alleged withholding Rs 8,000 crore of funds from the state. But he is now also being seen as a moderating force.
On Thursday, during the third round of the meeting between the farmer leaders and Union ministers, Mann stood by the farmers, while also nudging them to the negotiating table by asking them to believe in the power of dialogue. He also portrayed himself as the custodian of three crore people of the state, who was concerned that they get regular supplies of fuel, milk and other items.
Mann is himself at loggerheads with the Centre, and especially with Union minister Piyush Goyal, who is in charge of the Ministry of Food that has allegedly declined to pay Punjab its share of Rural Development Funds (RDF). The RDF is a statutory fund, levied by the state on the Centre on the grains it procures for national granaries. However, the Mann dispensation has alleged that the Centre has been sitting on Rs 5,500 crore dues to the state. Mann has met Goyal in the past over the issue, which has now landed in the Supreme Court.
Mann used Thursday’s meeting to raise this issue too, reminding Goyal that with this money, the state could mitigate a lot of farm distress by compensating the farmers for managing their stubble, which has been a cause of concern for both the state and the Centre.
Yet, Mann’s presence at these meetings was not only seen as reassuring by the farmers, but was also beneficial to the Centre. He grasped the offer to become a mediator, asking the farmers to press on with their demands, but also by using the opportunity to put his point across to the Centre.
On Thursday, besides raising the issue of the RDFs, Mann also highlighted Haryana turning its border with Punjab into a “replica of the Indo-Pak border” with the installation of barricades, as well as the suspension of internet across three districts that, according to Mann, was harassing students appearing for board exams. He also criticised the lobbing of teargas shells and other ammunition by security forces from the Haryana side at the agitating farmers.
“They (Haryana Police) lob shells, which land up in our territory (Punjab). That is why I asked the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Patiala (Showkat Ahmed Parray) to write a letter to the Ambala DC. Why should they do that?” the CM told the media on Thursday.
Mann also had a word for caution for the farmers, requesting them to maintain peace. He said he did not want to expose the youth to ammunition, water cannons and tear gas shells. “I am with Punjab and Punjabis. As a custodian of the state, I have to look after all three crore people. We do not want a situation where we face shortage of fuel and other goods. I have to see to the needs of all the people,” he said, hinting at the possibility of the barricades impeding essential supplies in Punjab from other states.
