Kejriwal Accuses Gujarat BJP of Extreme Repression; AAP Leaders Arrested for Backing Farmers

New Delhi / Gujarat, Oct 2025 : Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal sharply reacted to the arrest of party leaders Pravin Ram and Raju Karpada in Gujarat, who were supporting farmers raising their voices. He said the BJP government in Gujarat has reached the height of repression.

Kejriwal recalled the fate of the Congress in Gujarat and warned the BJP, saying that in 1985 Congress won 149 out of 182 seats and became arrogant. In 1987 a farmers’ movement occurred, Congress suppressed it, and in the next election the people of Gujarat uprooted the 149-seat Congress government. “The BJP has ruled Gujarat for 30 years. The BJP has now become excessively arrogant. The way BJP has started repressing farmers, the people of Gujarat will uproot it in the next election,” he said.

Kejriwal demanded that the government withdraw all cases registered against farmers and meet their demands. “If arrests are to be made, then arrest us,” he said.

He pledged AAP’s firm support for the farmers protesting exploitation through the ‘karda pratha’ and urged people to unite: “I appeal to farmers — all unite, take to the streets against the government’s repression and get your demands accepted.”

Kejriwal’s remarks came after two AAP leaders, Pravin Ram and Raju Karpada, were arrested on Thursday for raising farmers’ grievances. He said Gujarat’s 30-year BJP government has reached the height of repression. He recalled that in 1985 Congress had won 149 seats out of 182 and became arrogant. In 1987 farmers’ protests took place; Congress suppressed them and was then voted out in the next election. “Now BJP has been in power in Gujarat for 30 years. BJP too has become very arrogant. The way BJP has begun to repress farmers, the people of Gujarat will uproot it in the next election,” he said.

Kejriwal shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, saying Gujarat’s farmers are deeply distressed and have taken to the streets to demand their rights. Demonstrations have been occurring in many places for the past few days. On 12 October, farmers in Hardad village of Botad district held a grand panchayat (mass meeting) on two major demands. The first demand was against the ‘karda pratha’. Under this practice, when a farmer brings produce to the mandi (market), a price is agreed with a trader — for example, the trader may agree to buy at ₹1,400 per quintal. The trader may purchase 10–20% of the produce at ₹1,400, but some traders act unscrupulously and claim the rest of the produce is of poor quality under ‘karda pratha,’ then pay a much lower price for the remainder. Kejriwal said almost all farmers in Gujarat face this exploitation. Farmers demand that the entire crop be purchased at the agreed rate without exploitation. Asking for a fair price for one’s crop is justified.

Kejriwal said the farmers’ second demand relates to purchases at the APMC government mandi. The law states that when a farmer brings produce to the government mandi, traders must complete the purchase there. But traders often refuse and ask farmers to transport their produce 30–40 kilometres to the trader’s factory or warehouse, forcing the farmer to bear transport costs. Farmers now want their produce to be fully purchased at the mandi itself, with traders responsible for transporting it thereafter. On 12 October the grand panchayat in Hardad village was convened to press these two demands and farmers had gathered there. According to Kejriwal, the BJP government, which has ruled Gujarat for 30 years, brutally baton-charged unarmed farmers and fired tear-gas shells. That day FIRs were lodged against 85 farmers, including charges as serious as attempt to murder (Section 307), and several arrests were made.

Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi Party has stood with farmers from the beginning and supports their movement at every step. Two AAP leaders, Rajubhai Karpada and Pravin Ram, were present at the protest site and were arrested by Gujarat Police on Thursday. “I want to tell the Gujarat government: immediately meet all the farmers’ demands and withdraw all cases against poor farmers. If you want to file cases, file them against AAP leaders. We are not afraid. The central BJP government jailed me, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Satyendra Jain — but we came back. Government should release innocent farmers. Among the 85 farmers, two or three are AAP leaders — file as many cases as you like against them; we will fight those cases. But drop the cases against poor farmers,” he said.

Kejriwal urged Gujarat’s farmers to take heed: “What happened to these 85 farmers today could happen to you tomorrow. All farmers of Gujarat should unite, take to the streets, and get their demands fulfilled.” He repeated his warning to the Gujarat BJP: “In 1985, the Congress government with 149 seats became arrogant. It repressed farmers with baton-charge and tear gas, and the people removed it in the next election. Today the repression by the Gujarat BJP has reached its peak. The time has come when the people of Gujarat are preparing to uproot this 30-year-old government. Don’t be arrogant — arrogance does not spare anyone. The cries of poor farmers will not leave you alone.”