Maize being sold at half MSP a slap on BJP’s face, says Cheema
Our Correspondent
Hoshiarpur, September 20
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Harpal Singh Cheema asked the entire BJP leadership to find out the status of Doaba mandis, including Hoshiarpur, where the maize crop was being purchased
by private traders below
the half minimum support price (MSP) of Rs1,870 per quintal announced by the government.
Cheema said BJP MP from Hoshiarpur and Union Minister Som Prakash, instead of advocating anti-farmer black laws, should immediately resign from the Modi Cabinet and help Punjab and the farmers of Punjab.
“Be prepared to stand by the farmers or face the wrath of people like Harsimrat Kaur Badal,” said Cheema.
On Saturday, Harpal Singh Cheema accompanied by a delegation of AAP MLAs and leaders visited the Hoshiarpur grain market. Cheema said: “Farmers are forced to sell their maize crop at Rs650 to Rs1,200 per quintal, while the price of maize has been fixed at Rs1,870 per quintal. It’s a slap on the face of BJP leaders who are supporting the black agricultural laws.”
Cheema and the MLAs said if Punjab BJP leaders did not oppose the anti-agriculture black laws, AAP would besiege the houses of Som Prakash, Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol and state BJP president Ashwani Sharma like the Badals.
Cheema said despite the announcement of MSP, the plight of maize in Punjab mandis, including those of Doaba, was deteriorating. This is a warning to all, including the BJP, that if the three black laws on agriculture were passed in the parliament, the day was not far when wheat and paddy crops in Punjab and Haryana would be purchased arbitrarily by private traders at half the price despite the MSP’s announcement such as maize.
