Farmers throughout protest in opposition to farm legal guidelines.
The Union Home Ministry on Saturday termed as “distorted” and “misleading” media reviews linking its letter to the Punjab authorities on the plight of 58 “bonded labourers” rescued within the state to the farmers’ agitation and stated no motive ought to be ascribed to a routine communication over regulation and order points.
The ministry stated a bit of media has erroneously reported that the ministry has written the letter to Punjab levelling “grave charges” in opposition to the farmers of the state.
“These news reports are misleading and present a distorted and highly editorialised opinion of a simple observation about a socioeconomic problem emerging from four sensitive border districts of Punjab over a period of two years, which has been brought to the attention of this ministry by the concerned Central Armed Police Force,” the house ministry stated in a press release.
The residence ministry stated, “Firstly, no motive can be ascribed to a letter issued by this ministry to a particular state or states as this is part of routine communication over law and order issues”.
The ministry stated the letter has additionally been forwarded to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Labour and Employment with a request to perform a sensitisation train in all states to examine the duping of weak victims by the hands of unscrupulous components.
“Secondly, some of the news reports about the letter have juxtaposed in a totally unrelated context to conclude that the MHA has framed ‘grave charges’ against the farmers of Punjab and has also connected this with the ongoing farmers’ agitation,” the assertion stated.
Farmers, largely from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting on the borders of Delhi in opposition to three central agri legal guidelines since late November, with the impasse persisting even after a number of rounds of talks.
The residence ministry stated the letter clearly and solely states that “human trafficking syndicates” rent such labourers and they’re “exploited, paid poorly and meted out inhuman treatment” apart from luring them with medicine to extract extra labour, affecting their “physical and mental health”.
“Keeping in view the multi-dimensional and overwhelming enormity of the problem, this ministry has only requested the state government(s) to take suitable measures to address this serious problem,” the assertion stated.
In its communication dated March 17, the house ministry has conveyed to the Punjab authorities that 58 mentally challenged folks belonging to Bihar and UP have been discovered to be working as “bonded labourers” within the border districts of the state and requested it to take applicable motion to cope with the “serious” drawback.
In the letter to the Chief Secretary of Punjab, the house ministry stated the Border Security Force (BSF) has discovered that these 58 folks, who have been introduced to Punjab with the promise of good wage however exploited, got medicine and compelled to work in inhuman circumstances as soon as they reached Punjab.
The residence ministry stated the BSF has knowledgeable that these labourers have been apprehended from the border areas of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur and Abohar in Punjab in 2019 and 2020.
The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal, which had snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA over the issue of agri legal guidelines, had on Friday questioned the Centre’s missive, alleging it was an try to defame the farmers of the state.
