Arvind Kejriwal to meet group of farmer leaders at Assembly today

Ahead of the Aam Aadmi Party’s mahapanchayat in Meerut supporting the protests against the three farm laws, the party Saturday said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet a group of farmer leaders on Sunday.

AAP functionaries, who did not wish to be named, said the meeting will take place over lunch at the Delhi Assembly. However, the party refused to share names of the leaders who have been invited to the meeting.

Krantikari Kisan Union leader Darshan Pal of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of over 30 unions leading the protests, said no union leader has received any invite from the Delhi government or the AAP so far. “We have not received any invitation from the Delhi government,” Pal said.

The morcha held a meeting at its camp office at the Singhu border on Saturday. “The leaders were asked if they have received any invite from the Delhi government. Everyone said no. The morcha has also not received any communication in this regard on its official email id,” a functionary from SKM said.

The development also comes against the backdrop of the Punjab municipal polls, where the AAP won nine out of 401 wards in municipal corporations and 51 of 1,817 wards in municipal councils/nagar panchayats.

On February 28, Kejriwal is scheduled to address a mahapanchayat in Meerut after the completion of an AAP workers’ meet.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also visited Ghazipur border last month. During his visit, Sisodia had met BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, who has publicly thanked the Delhi government for making arrangements for the farmers at the protest venue.

The AAP also activated its administrative machinery towards making arrangements for the protesters in the form of water tankers, WiFi services and mobile toilets.

The Delhi government had also turned down the Delhi Police’s request to convert nine stadiums into makeshift jails during the initial stages of the protests.