Bajwa blames SAD-BJP govt for farmers’ plight - DEMANDS THAT COMPENSATION OF `100 PER QUINTAL ANNOUNCED BY CHIEF MINISTER BE DOUBLED
Sunday, 26/04/2015
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LUDHIANA: Punjab Pradesh Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday assured farmers who lost their crop to untimely rain in the recent months to be their voice against the central government’s “apathy” towards them.
Accompanied by member parliament from Ludhiana, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Bajwa toured various mandis (grain markets) in the district and demanded that the farmers who lost their crop completely be paid `25,000 per acre as compensation and those who suffered partial damage be paid `15,000 per acre.
Bajwa also demanded that the compensation of `100 per quintal announced by Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal be doubled.
“If the state can’t afford to pay the amount, the Union government should make its contribution,” he added.
Bajwa blamed the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the mess and questioned why Punjab had yet to relax specifications for procurement of wheat from farmers when five other states had done so on their own.
“Badal is playing foul with farmers as no purchases were made in mandis, but only shown falsely in books. (Prime Minister) Modi and Badal are moving towards abolishing the system of procurement and disbanding the Food Corporation of India…that will not be tolerated,” Bajwa said.
However, vice-chairman of the United Farmers Empowerment Initiative (UFEI) and president of the Punjab Agricultural University’s Kisan Club, criticised Bajwa saying he was sensitising the non-lifting of wheat from the mandis.
“It is nothing but a situation similar to that of a traffic jam …due to bad weather, the harvest got delayed and as a result there was glut in the mandis… the produce will be lifted in due course of time,” he said.
“Bajwa as well as other politicians should stop taking mileage out the issue,” Pangli added.
