Punjab wants Canada to apologise for Komagata Maru tragedy

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 25

On the last day of the Budget session today, the Punjab Assembly passed two key resolutions related to the Komagata Maru incident and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report.

The Assembly unanimously passed a resolution recommending the Centre to seek apology from the Canadian Government for the Komagata Maru tragedy in which 19 Punjabis were killed at Budge Budge ghat of Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1914. It also recommended the state government to approach the Centre for implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report, which suggested 50 per cent profit over and above the input cost to farmers.

The official resolution on Komagata Maru was mooted after the Canadian and Indian branches of Mohan Singh Foundation, Gadar Memorial Foundation, Punjabi Sahitya Academy and Folklore Research Academy, and Aalmi Virasat Foundation approached Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal and former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. During deliberation, members of the House said while Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had sought a public apology in Surrey in 2008, they wanted an apology to be sought in Canadian Parliament.

Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia appealed to the Treasury as well as Opposition members not to politicise the martyrdom of the 19 Punjabis but raise a united voice so that Canada was forced to apologise, which would be a befitting tribute to them. Nakodar MLA Gurpartap Wadala demanded a memorial to the martyrs, while Bhattal, ministers Tota Singh and Sohan Singh Thandal, and MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh also supported the resolution.

On the Swaminathan Commission report, MLAs across all parties debated how agriculture was becoming unviable in Punjab.

The prices of crops such as basmati, cotton and guar had fallen by over 25 per cent this year and the cyclical fall in prices of farm produce was weaning farmers from agriculture. The debate was initiated by Sardoolgarh MLA Ajit Inder Singh Mofar and saw heated debate between the Opposition and Treasury Benches, with both claiming the other party was responsible for non-implementation of the Swaminathan report recommendations.

Akali-BJP leaders maintained that the report was tabled in 2006 when the UPA government was in power and they failed to implement it, while the Congress demanded to know the BJP’s stand on the issue.

Jalandhar MLA Manoranjan Kalia accused the UPA of signing Trade Facilitation Agreements in 2013, which would prevent the government from increasing the price of agriculture produce by more than 10 per cent of the input costs. Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar said as an interim measure, a viability gap fund be set up so that each time the price of crops fell, the state government could provide relief to farmers and ensure they got their dues.

Rana Gurjit Singh said the Congress had raised the MSP of wheat and paddy substantially, but the BJP failed to do so. Agriculture Minister Tota Singh, while agreeing that the Swaminathan report be implemented, said MSP should be there for all crops.