Karnal: The Haryana police’s lathi charge on farmers protesting against a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meet at Bastara toll plaza is being compared to a ‘second Jallianwala Bagh’ by netizens and political parties, while Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar is likened to General Dyer.
On Monday, Shiv Sena termed the attacks “second Jallianwala Bagh” and said the Khattar government has no right to remain in power anymore.
An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inaugurating the renovated Jallianwala Bagh complex in Amritsar, a second Jallianwala Bagh was happening in Haryana.
“The seeds of cruelty being sown by the government will bear sour fruits. This is for sure…The Manohar Lal Khattar government has no right to remain in power,” the Sena said.
It said the lathi charge incident might make farmers in India revolt and take revenge for each drop of blood that was shed by them.
Congress party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also condemned the attack, saying that the BJP-JJP regime is the “General Dyer government”.
Condemning this lathicharge on the protesting farmers, netizens compared Manohar Lal Khattar to British General Reginald Dyer.
General Dyer was the man responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 where he ordered the British troops to open fire on peaceful protests resulting in a huge loss of lives.
At least 10 people were injured on Saturday as police lathicharged a group of farmers disrupting traffic movement while heading towards Karnal to protest against a Bharatiya Janata Party meeting attended by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, state BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar and other leaders.
Farmers alleged that they were lathi-charged despite any provocation and called their protest “peaceful”. Farmer Organization Samyukt Kisan Morcha demanded the dismissal of Karnal Sub Divisional Magistrate Ayush Sinha, whose video to ‘break the heads’ of protesting farmers was widely shared.
According to Haryana Additional Director General of Police Navdeep Virk, around 4 farmers and 10 policemen have been injured in this clash. Police alleged farmers of throwing stones and attacking them with sticks on them.