Chief Minister oblivious to farmers’ plight, says Harsimrat

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 21

Union Food Processing Minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday tore into the Congress, accusing Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh of being oblivious to the farmers’ plight.

“Punjab is burning, but Capt Amarinder Singh is cooling his heels in Chandigarh, oblivious to the plight of farmers affected by rain and hailstorm. The farmers are now being fleeced in mandis (grain markets) in the name of high grain moisture content,” she said.

In a statement issued here, she said it was strange that “instead of rushing to the aid of farmers after unseasonal rain and hailstorm destroyed the wheat crop across the state, the chief minister was busy for three days trying to quell a revolt within the Congress party over ticket distribution.”

According to her, this would have a direct effect on “remote-controlled” girdawari (crop damage assessment), resulting in wrong reports. “There are areas where the damage has been more than 80 per cent, but the Congress government is refusing to give more than 10 to 15 per cent damage relief to farmers,” Badal added.

She said she was receiving delegations from farmers who were complaining that the Congress government had passed orders to officials to delay procurement. She said farmers sitting on dharna on the Malout-Bathinda highway had disclosed that they were being prevented from taking their produce to the grain market by market officials, accompanied by cops.

The Union minister said farmers also staged ‘dharnas’ at Maur Mandi and Bhaini Bagha against the “highhandedness” of government officials, who were making them suffer in ‘mandis’. “Rampant corruption, involving fleecing of farmers, is taking place in the name of high moisture content. The farmers have never before been forced to cough up money to get their produce procured as is being done presently under the Congress rule,” she said.

The Bathinda MP also condemned Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar for “politicising” the issue by claiming that procurement could not take place efficiently because the staff had been engaged in election duty. “This is a white lie,” she added.