Punjab CM slams AAP for walking-out from state's all-party meet

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for walking-out from the all-party meeting chaired by him, just before the representatives of all the parties present were about to pass the resolution in support of the agitating farmers.

"AAP members walked out over a demand which no state government can accept," pointed out the CM, adding that they had no intention of supporting the state and its farmers, which explains their convenient walkout minutes before the resolution was to be voted on.

Terming AAP's actions as part of a well-planned strategy, Singh said, "How is it possible that a party with pretensions of being a national outfit not know that no state police can simply barge into another state?"

"How can a party that claims to be pro-farmer walk out of a crucial meeting called to evolve a consensus on a critical issue relating to the farmers, over a patently unlawful demand? How can they not support a joint initiative by all parties, which was in the interests of Punjab, if they really care for the state and its people," he asked.

According to an official statement issued by the Chief Minister Office (CMO), Singh chaired an all-party meet in Punjab to pass a resolution seeking immediate withdrawal of three farm laws by the central government today.

"This meeting was boycotted by the BJP while AAP staged a walkout out over their demand for deployment of Punjab police to protect the farmers protesting at the Delhi borders, which the Chief Minister rejected as unconstitutional," the statement read.

"By refusing to rise above petty politics on such a serious and sensitive issue, the party has once again exposed itself as nothing but a stooge of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," Singh further said.

The Punjab CM also alleged that both BJP and AAP had been caught on camera inciting violence at Red Fort on Republic Day during farmers' tractor rally.

( With inputs from ANI )