Opposition Condemns Detention of Farmer Leaders, Calls Punjab Government’s Action “Cowardly”

 Chandigarh: Opposition parties have strongly condemned the detention of several prominent farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, by the AAP-led Punjab government. The leaders were detained in Mohali on Wednesday while returning from a meeting with a central delegation, even as Punjab Police dismantled protest sites at Shambhu and Khanauri, clearing roads that had been blocked for over a year.

Criticizing the move as a "cowardly act," senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa asserted that Punjab has never witnessed a government summoning farmer leaders for a meeting only to detain them afterward. "This is an unprecedented betrayal of Punjab’s farming community. Punjabis will neither forget nor forgive Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for this shameful act," Bajwa stated.

Union Minister and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu also slammed the Punjab government, alleging that the detentions were aimed at "sabotaging" ongoing discussions between the Centre and farmers. "The Centre is committed to resolving farmers’ issues, but the Punjab government’s abrupt crackdown is a deliberate attempt to derail negotiations. CM Bhagwant Mann has betrayed the farmers, and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who has been in Punjab for the last three days, has orchestrated a conspiracy against them," Bittu alleged.

Bajwa further accused CM Mann of acting as a "puppet" of the BJP-led Centre. "This confirms what I have been saying all along—AAP and BJP are two sides of the same coin. Once again, AAP’s real agenda in Punjab stands exposed," he added.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also condemned the detentions, questioning their necessity when negotiations between the Centre and farmers were already underway. "Both the BJP at the Centre and the AAP in Punjab have deceived and backstabbed the farmers. The Mann government, which once promised MSP within five minutes, is now refusing to even acknowledge the farmers’ legitimate demands. I strongly condemn the unlawful detention of farmer leaders and demand their immediate release," Warring wrote on X.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders Sukhbir Singh Badal and Harsimrat Kaur Badal also denounced the police action, demanding the unconditional release of the detained leaders.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused both the BJP and AAP of orchestrating a "fraudulent trap" to arrest farmer leaders under the guise of MSP negotiations. "This is a betrayal of India’s 62 crore farmers, and they will never forgive this conspiracy," he warned.

The detentions have escalated political tensions in Punjab, with opposition parties uniting in their demand for the immediate release of farmer leaders and renewed negotiations on farmers' demands.