Ashok Gehlot slams Centre over ongoing farmers' protest
Nov 28, 2020
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], November 28 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday slammed the Centre over the ongoing farmers' protest.
"Our farmers are making a positive contribution to the economy even in such difficult times but the Modi government has been unjust to them. The central government should listen to the farmers and fulfill all their demands immediately," Gehlot wrote on Twitter (roughly translated from Hindi).
Commenting on the latest Gross domestic product (GDP) figures which contracted to 7.5 per cent, a rebound from the earlier quarter when the economy had contracted by 23.9 per cent, Rajasthan CM said that even during the negative growth, the agricultural sector showed improvement.
"The GDP growth rate for the second quarter of FY 2020-21 has been -7.5%. Even during this negative growth rate, the agricultural sector grew by 3.4%," he wrote in a subsequent tweet.
Previously, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had expressed his anguish over the Centre's management of the farmer protest.
"Our slogan was 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' but today PM Modi's arrogance made the jawans stand against the farmers in this country. This is very dangerous," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
Farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, on Saturday morning, began arriving at the Nirankari Samagam ground on the outskirts of the national capital for a protest against the new farm laws.
After days of a standoff with cops and facing teargas shells, water cannons and barricading at various points on the Delhi-Haryana border by police, the farmers 'Dilli Chalo' march was allowed to enter the national capital on Friday and proceed to ground in north-west Delhi's Burari.
The Tikri border was opened up for them and arrangements were made for the farmers at the ground by the Delhi Government.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police made an appeal to the protestors to maintain peace and hold a peaceful agitation.
