Instead of turban issue in WB, BJP should at farm law affected-Sikhs: Cong

Congress leader in the Lok Sabha

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday said when lakhs of Sikhs in Punjab are facing an uncertain future because of farm laws passed by the BJP-led central government, while the saffron party is crying foul over an alleged incident of pulling off of the turban of a Sikh by the police during a protest rally here.

Chowdhury said that the Congress has a lot of complaints against the police in West Bengal, but he does not believe that the force indulges in communalism or dividing people on the basis of caste and creed.

The BJP has alleged that the police have shown disrespect to the Sikh community by allegedly pulling off the turban of Balwinder Singh, a private security officer of a party leader, while arresting him for carrying a firearm during a protest march to the state secretariat on October 8.

The state government has said that his turban came off during a scuffle with the police.

Chowdhury, also the state Congress president, told reporters that the police have explained the reason for arresting Singh, and questioned why he was carrying a firearm in a rally.

Holding that the Sikhs and Bengalis have lived in harmony in West Bengal for ages, he said that “the BJP will not be able to draw them into communal politics”.

Chowdhury said that there may have been attacks on the Sikhs in other parts of the country, but there has never been an incident of atrocity on them in this state.

“Lakhs of Sikh people are protesting against the Narendra Modi government’s farm laws since they fear that these will throw their lives into an uncertain future. If the BJP really has any feeling for the sentiment of the Sikhs, its leaders in Bengal should speak out against the farm laws,” he said.

Three contentious farm laws have triggered protests by farmers especially in Punjab and Haryana.

He said that at least 40 crore jobs are needed in the country now and that the people are going through an unprecedented phase of poverty and hardship amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The buying capacity of people in the country has reduced drastically as they do not have money in their hands.

“Per capita income of the citizens of Bangladesh is higher than that of the Indians. The economic situation of the neighbouring country is better than that of us,” he said.

Chowdhury said that at a time when people have lost jobs owing to the pandemic, the central government has brought upon them another big blow by bringing the farm laws.

Anti-labour laws brought by the central government are also taking away the rights of workers, he claimed.

“Instead of bringing in a vaccine for Covid-19, working for the betterment of healthcare services in the country and helping the economically distressed people, the government has taken advantage of the situation brought in anti-farmer and anti-labour laws,” he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor