Haryana CM Khatar's Comment 'Pick Up Sticks, Don't Fear Jail ' At BJP Morcha Gets Congress Rallied

The Congress lashed out at the Haryana chief minister over his remarks

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar

New Delhi: As the farmer's protest has once again heated up the political environment, Opposition has alleged Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar instigating the supporters of the saffron party to attack the farmers protesting against three agriculture laws of the Centre.

A video clip of Khattar’s speech went viral on social media during a meeting of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha on Sunday where he told the gathering to form groups of 500 to 1,000 and be prepared to even go to jail.

The Opposition and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farm unions spearheading the anti-farm law protests alleged that he also told the supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to pick up sticks (“tha lo dande") against the protesting farmers.

"In each district of north & west Haryana, you should raise volunteer groups of 700-1000 farmers at different places & use tit for tat action against them (protesting farmers). Pick up sticks...," says Haryana CM ML Khattar while addressing state unit of BJP Kisan Morcha, according to video shared by news agency ANI.

However, by doing so he mentioned that it's important to maintain the law and order and not go beyond that.

In this purported video, Khattar can be seen saying that the problem is not much in south Haryana and it is limited to the northern and western districts of the state. “Form groups of 500, 700, 1,000 farmers and make them volunteers. And then at every place, ‘sathe sathyam samacharet’. What does it mean — it means tit for tat (jaisa ko taisa).”

“Do not worry…when you remain there (in jail) for a month, three months or six months, you will become big leaders, your names will be etched in history," he said.

The Congress lashed out at the Haryana chief minister over his remarks. “Your (Khattar’s) guru mantra asking BJP supporters to attack the agitating farmers with sticks, to go to jail and become leaders from there will never be successful. “This call to spread anarchy at an open programme after taking oath of the Constitution is treason. Seems you also have the nod of Modi-Naddaji in this," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted in Hindi.

“If the chief minister of the state talks about spreading violence, breaking the society and destroying law and order, then the rule of law and the Constitution cannot run in the state. “Today, the BJP’s anti-farmer conspiracy got busted. The time has come for showing the door to such an anarchic government," he said.