Singhu activist’s photo on BJP’s pro-farm law poster

JALANDHAR: In an embarrassing goof-up, the Punjab BJP used the picture of Punjabi actor, director, producer, photographer, Harp Farmer, in a pro-farm-law poster on its Facebook page, while he is at the Singhu border protest.
Harp had been updating own Facebook page from the protest site. It is second case in which a protester’s picture was used in a pro-farm advertisement by the Union agriculture ministry.The poster of Harpreet Singh, who goes by the name of Harp Farmer in the art world, is about the crop procurement on MSP. It was shared on Punjab BJP’s official Facebook page on Monday evening.
“I don’t really follow politics much and not at all the political parties on the social media. I was already at Singhu border when a friend called me up on Monday evening and sent me this picture. I was shocked to see self in pro-farm-law campaign when I have been very much a part of the protest at the Singhu border for the last three weeks,” Harp Farmer told TOI.
“I have been part of the protest barring three short gaps when I had to go home,” Harp said.
Legal notice to BJP
On Tuesday evening, he sent a legal notice to the BJP's national president, Punjab unit chief, and Punjab office incharge. He gave them seven days to apologise for the “theft” of photograph and its use without his permission, besides explaining how they got it. Punjab and Haryana high court advocate Hakam Singhstated in the notice that this picture had spoiled Harp’s image of a strong opponent of these bills.
On Monday night, he took a dig at BJP for using his picture, calling it shamelessness and saying that he was at Singhu. He also posted a video on his Facebook page, asking people to report the post to social networking site.
There were a few hundred comments by Punjabi netizens under the post in which people posted screen shots from Harp’s Facebook page and also ridiculed the BJP for using the picture wrongly.
By Tuesday afternoon, the particular post was removed. In August last, the Union agriculture ministry had used image of farmer Gurpreet Singh from Chandbaja village in Faridkot in an advertisement to promote farm ordinances. The picture used in the ad was from October 2018 when then Faridkot deputy commissioner Rajeev Prashar had visited his fields to see ploughing of paddy stubble in his fields. Gurpreet had not been burning paddy stubble. He has also been strongly opposing farm ordinances, later bills, and had taken strong exception to use of his picture.