Mann blames Tota Singh for farm suicides

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, December 15

Bhagwant Mann, AAP MP from Sangrur, today demanded that Agriculture Minister Tota Singh be booked and arrested for murder as the pesticide scam had resulted in the deaths of several cotton farmers. He said these farmers were forced to commit suicide as their crops died due to the purchase of spurious pesticides. Mann said Tota Singh was involved in a pesticide scam of Rs 32 crore.

At a dharna, organised by AAP outside the district administrative complex here today, Mann said it was a matter of shame that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had not ousted Tota Singh from his Cabinet despite an observation by the High Court. He said had the pesticides not been spurious, farmers would not have committed suicide.

Mann said if the Badal government does not arrest the Agriculture Minister then AAP would gherao Tota Singh’s residence in Moga during its next phase of agitation.

Mann also flayed the Badal government for not giving compensation of much less than Rs 8,000 per acre to cotton growers that it had announced earlier.

He also said it was Amarinder Singh’s Government that started selling government properties, while the Akalis only followed this practice. He said the Akalis and the Congressmen were hand in glove. Mann said the Badals and Capt Amarinder Singh held rallies in Bathinda and Patiala today to fool the people.

AAP today held protests across 13 parliamentary constituencies in the state