The Bharatiya Kisan Union’s (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said on Sunday his organisation was not involved in the thrashing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Punjab Arun Narang and alleged it was done by the party itself to defame farmers, who have been protesting against the Centre’s three new farm laws for more than four months now. “Our people showed black flags but were not involved in this incident,” Tikait was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Narang, a legislator from Abohar municipality in Punjab’s Fazilka district, was allegedly beaten up by a group of protesting farmers in the Malout area of the Muktsar district on Saturday. He went there with a few local leaders to address a press conference. A video, which has been doing the rounds on social media, purportedly showed the BJP leader in torn clothes being taken to a safe place by police personnel. Narang, on being asked about whether has approached the police, told PTI that he will first speak to the party leadership over this matter.
Meanwhile, the Muktsar Police on Sunday booked BKU (Sidhupur) Muktsar president Sukhdev Singh and six others for attempting to murder Narang. Around 200-250 unidentified people have also been booked in connection with this incident.Our people were not involved (in thrashing a BJP MLA in Punjab’s Muktsar). Our people showed black flags but were not involved in this incident. On the contrary, it was done by their people to defame farmers: Bhartiya Kisan Union (Arajnaitik) leader Rakesh Tikait
Political parties in Punjab, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the ruling Congress party, condemned the attack on Narang and demanded action against those involved. Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh while condemning the incident also warned of strict action against those trying to create disturbance in the state and urged the farmers to not involve themselves in such a violent act.
