Punjab: Gidderbaha Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon on Tuesday said he will have to face the consequences of farmers’ disillusionment with the party in the next assembly elections. The MLA has become the first legislator of the ruling party to acknowledge the possible repercussions of last month’s police action that ended the over a year-long agitation of farmers for assured prices for crops. On Monday, farmers had protested against Dimpy at Gurusar village here, where he had gone to inaugurate development work at a school under the government’s Sikh Revolution programme. His statement came a day after two other AAP MLAs – Balkar Sidhu and Sukhbir Singh – faced the wrath of farmers in Bathinda district in separate incidents. When farmers posed the question to Dimpy at Manianwala village here today, he replied, “I know that I will have to suffer in the next elections because of this (farmers’ disillusionment).
I am anticipating this.” Dimpy had approached the farmers after seeing them standing on the roadside holding union flags. The farmers raised several concerns that are directly affecting them, including the recent ban on Pusa-44, a popular paddy variety. In response, Dimpy said, “I will definitely talk to the chief minister and demand some relaxation for the region. I understand the problem of the farmers. Whatever happened in the past, let it remain in the past.” However, the farmers said that if the Congress or the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were in power, they would have put more pressure on the Centre to accept their demands. Dimpy did not respond to the comment and quietly left the place in his car. Dimpy, a prominent transporter, left the Akali Dal and joined the AAP just before the Gidderbaha by-election in August last year.
