India News | AAP Rejects Pb CM's Appeal to Accompany Him to President
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The AAP on Saturday rejected Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's appeal to all parties' MLAs to accompany him to meet President Ram Nath Kovind on November 4 to request him to give his assent to the state's amended farm laws.
Chandigarh, Oct 31 (PTI) The AAP on Saturday rejected Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's appeal to all parties' MLAs to accompany him to meet President Ram Nath Kovind on November 4 to request him to give his assent to the state's amended farm laws.
Dubbing the chief minister's move a “mere political drama”, Aam Aadmi Party senior leader and Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema said the AAP will not be a part of the delegation headed by the CM to meet the President.
Cheema said the three farm Bills passed in the state assembly by “rushing” amendments to negate the "controversial" central laws were “meaningless”, asserting that it would not help protect the farmers' interests.
He said there was no point in meeting the President as the Punjab governor has not yet signed the Bills.
He alleged that Amarinder Singh was trying to “fool” the people of Punjab, especially the farmers, by projecting himself as their champion.
AAP MLA said instead of meeting the President, if the CM leads a delegation of all parties, to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the AAP would have gladly accepted the offer.
“Had Amarinder decided to stage a 'dharna' outside the Prime Minister's residence to repeal the black laws, including the Air Pollution Ordinance, the AAP would have extended its full support to him,” he said in a statement here.
Amarinder Singh was a “mere puppet” in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was why he had not so far met either the prime minister or the Union agriculture minister and the railway minister alone or as a delegation against the black laws, he alleged.
Notably, the CM had appealed to all the MLAs to “stand up and be counted” and rise above party lines in safeguarding the state's interests which are being “trampled upon” by the Union government.
The Punjab Assembly this month had adopted a resolution rejecting the Centre's new farm laws and passed four bills to counter the contentious legislation enacted by Parliament.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)