The union minister told NDTV that there are “some elements that are using this farmers’ movement to defame them and take the agenda to another angle”.
With farmers’ protest escalating and government failing to find out a solution to farmers’ demands, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the photograph of “a person who supports the Naxalite movement” was seen during the farmers’ agitation against the three new farm laws.
“I’m not speaking of all farmers and farmer organisations, but I want to ask you something. In our Gadchiroli district, near Nagpur, in Vidarbha, a person who supports the Naxalite movement was investigated. The court also did not grant him bail. How did his photo appear in this movement? What is his link to farming and farmers?” the union transport minister told NDTV when asked about his stand that an attempt is being to mislead the farmers over the laws.
The senior BJP leader said there are “some elements that are using this farmers’ movement to defame them and take the agenda to another angle”.
“Someone who gave anti-national speeches, someone who has no direct or indirect links with farmers, how did his photo appear? So I said there are some elements that are using this farmers’ movement to defame them and take the agenda to another angle. This is not the agenda of farmers and farmer organisations. Farmers should stay away from that. That’s all,” Mr Gadkari said.
The government sources last week had alleged that the farmers’ demonstrations were hijacked by the “ultra-left”, drawing a parallel between the farmers’ agitation and the Bhima-Koregaon violence near Pune in 2018.
For the farmers’ movement taking a sinister turn, government sources blamed the “ultra-left” and “pro-Left Wing Extremist elements”.
There were “credible intelligence inputs” to suggest that the movement will spur incidents of violence, arson and damage to public property in the coming days, the sources said. “Radical elements have advised farmers to block the Delhi-Jaipur highway”.
Instantly rubbishing the allegations, farmers maintained that their protest is apolitical and peaceful, rebuffing overtures from opposition parties.
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