The Congress party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday accused the Central government of adopting intimidatory tactics against arhtiyas (commission agents) supporting the agitating farmers against the farm laws.
Terming the clearly motivated Income Tax (I-T) raids against some Punjab commission agents as an obvious pressure tactic to curb their democratic rights and freedom, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said these “oppressive actions would backfire” against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Chief Minister said it was evident that having failed to persuade, mislead and divide the farmers into ending their protest against the farm laws, the Central government was now trying to weaken their struggle by targeting the commission agents who have been actively supporting the agitation.
“The I-T raids were conducted at the premises of several big arhtiyas of Punjab within a span of just four days of issuing notices, without waiting for responses to the notices,” said Capt. Amarinder, dubbing it a clear debasement of the due process of law. “Even the local police were not informed or taken into confidence, as is the normal procedure, and instead, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was used to provide security during the raids by the I-T teams,” he said.
“What is this if not a clear case of vendetta politics by the Centre, which is hellbent on demolishing the farmers’ protest by hook or by crook?” he asked.
Among the arhtiyas on whom the night-long raids were conducted in the presence of two bus-loads each of CRPF personnel were Vijay Kalra, president of the Punjab Arhtiya Association; Pawan Kumar Goyal, president of the association’s Samana Mandi; Jaswinder Singh Rana, Patiala district president of the association; Manjinder Singh Walia, Nawanshehar district president of the association; Hardeep Singh Ladda, Rajpura Mandi president of the association; and Kartar Singh and Amrik Singh, commission agents in Rajpura.
A total of 14 commission agents across Punjab have received notices from the I-T Department.
AAP State president and Lok Sabha MP Bhagwant Mann termed the sudden spree of raids on commission agents by the I-T Department as a retaliatory step by the Centre.
“The Income-Tax Department conducted raids on about two dozen arhtiyas and businessmen of Punjab who were openly supporting the ongoing peasant movement in an attempt to intimidate them and all other sections,” he said.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that the sole objective of the raids on commission agents was to intimidate them and force them to forsake the support they had extended to the ongoing farmers’ agitation. He said the move would only spoil peace and communal harmony in Punjab.
“It was shocking that well-planned, coordinated raids had been conducted on premises of a number of office bearers of the Punjab Arhtiya Association by using the Central Reserve Police Force. We condemn this oppressive action. The Central government was going against the principle of federalism and taking on the powers of the State with this latest action,” Mr. Badal said.
He said the Centre should not misuse Central agencies to settle scores against any section of society. “Such measures would only further alienate people from the central government and could have very dangerous repercussions,” he added.
