Cong to continue fight for farmers’ rights: Deepender

The appointment of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as Leader of Opposition brought a sense of pride and enthusiasm among Congress leaders and workers in the region. Supporters arrived with sweets at his local residence to celebrate the occasion and warmly welcomed MP Deepender Hooda upon his arrival on Tuesday. The MP thanked the gathering and urged them to further strengthen the party’s presence at the grassroots level.

Speaking to the media on the occasion, Deepender launched a blistering attack on the state government by calling the BJP a party that thrives on false propaganda.

“The BJP’s promise of providing Rs 2,100 per month to every woman has turned out to be its biggest political deception. The BJP never mentioned in its manifesto that there would be an income cap of Rs one lakh for this scheme,” he said.

The MP demanded the government to remove the Rs one lakh income restriction and fulfil its promise of Rs 2,100 for every woman in the state. He added that the Congress would continue to fight at every level to ensure the BJP fulfills its own promises.

Putting the BJP in the dock over the plight of farmers in mandis, Deepender said during the previous UPA government, bonuses over MSP were given, but the BJP government scrapped that provision. He demanded that the bonus system be reinstated, and farmers be given at least Rs 1,000 per quintal as bonus to alleviate their suffering.

He condemned the state government’s decision to provide less than half the compensation that Punjab was offering to the farmers who suffered from heavy crop loss and waterlogging. He highlighted that he had demanded a minimum of Rs 50,000 per acre as compensation for affected farmers, but the government neither conducted a special girdawari nor announced special compensation.

Deepender pointed out that until 2014, the Haryana farmers used to receive twice the compensation given in Punjab under the Congress government. “At that time, Punjab gave Rs 5,000 per acre while Haryana provided Rs 10,000 per acre, which was the highest in the country. Under the Congress rule, the compensation was also given for damages to tubewells, borewells and livestock,” he claimed.

Rohtak MLA BB Batra, Congress district presidents Balwan Ranga and Kuldeep KD were among those present on the occasion.