GOVT INSULTING FARMERS, SAYS MANPREET
Sunday, 11/10/2015
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CHANDIGARH: Holding the Parkash Singh Badal government responsible for farmer suicides in the cotton belt of the state, People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) chief Manpreet Singh Badal on Saturday said the Akali leaders, including deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, were insulting the agitating farmers instead of inviting them for a dialogue across the table.
Referring to the reported statement of minister for rural development and panchayats Sikander Singh Maluka that the agitators were not farmers but instruments in the hands of some political interest groups, the PPP chief said that earlier three Akali leaders — Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Prem Singh Chandumajra — had attacked the farmers who had been forced to resort to agitation due to the agrarian crisis.
“The CM gave a clean chit to agriculture minister Tota Singh without waiting for the inquiry report. The government should have ordered a CBI or a judicial inquiry into the pesticide scam. Now, Sukhbir and his colleagues are rubbing salt into the wounds of farmers.” he said.
