Chandigarh, January 1: Taking serious note of attempts by some protestors to forcibly enter homes of political leaders and workers in support of the farmers’ agitation, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday said such actions went against the spirit of Punjabiyat and could not be condoned.

Strongly condemning such behaviour, the Chief Minister appealed to the protestors not to cause any harassment or inconvenience to families of political functionaries of any party by resorting to this kind of acts. Invasion of privacy of people would bring a bad name to the peaceful agitation of the farmers and defeat its very objective, he warned, exhorting protestors not to take the law into their hands in their fight for the farmers’ rights. 

After months of showing exemplary restraint, and not indulging in any violence or lawlessness in Punjab, as well as at the borders of the national capital, some protestors were losing restraint despite being categorically asked by Kisan leaders to keep the protests peaceful, said Captain Amarinder. He urged these protesters to exercise restraint and express their solidarity with the farmers in the same spirit of self-discipline as had been demonstrated so far by farmer organizations and lakhs of their supporters.

The Chief Minister further warned that such attempts at forcible entry into the houses of any political functionaries, or picketing of their homes, had the dangerous potential of vitiating the atmosphere of peace and destroy the harmony amongst people of diverse castes, religions, communities etc, which was contrarian to the Punjabi spirit of harmony and unity. Politics has its place, but we must keep the spirit of Punjabiyat alive, he said.

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Urging the protestors to keep faith in the Kisan Leaders who were engaged in talks with the Central Government to resolve the crisis triggered by the enactment of the black Farm Laws, the Chief Minister said any acts of harassment or violence were violative of the spirit of their democratic to protest peacefully. 

Traumatisation of the families of political leaders or workers through such acts could also lead to a law and order problem in Punjab, which had achieved the distinction of being one of the most peaceful states in the country in the past few years, he pointed out.