Confronted by farmers once again, Punjab minister Khudian asks them to join politics

Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Wednesday asked farmers to join politics and “take control” of the system to resolve their issues, when confronted by them over their pending demands at Lambi’s Killianwali village.

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The incident took place a day after the minister faced a similar situation at Lambi’s Gaggar village. Khudian has been repeatedly confronted by farmers in recent months, especially after the state government evicted the farmers protesting at the border points with Haryana earlier this year, ending over a year-long stir for assured prices of crops.

The minister made the remarks after a farmers’ delegation led by Kala Singh of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union and Harpal Singh of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) posed him some tough questions.

The farmer leaders asked for a clarity over the pending compensation for the 2022 cotton crop failure and tried to corner him over a recent police action against a protest march to Chandigarh.

Visibly upset over it, he asked farmers join politics.“We will fulfil all promises as per the state government’s budget. We have already fulfilled many promises, like free electricity. This is ‘vote raaj. You join it, get the public’s vote, and take control. That would be good,” he said.

When asked how long it would take to fulfil their demands, the minister said, “You have already held meetings with my senior leaders regarding your issues.”

“Tell me the problems concerning your village, I will work on those. I listen to all your queries carefully, but you all keep complaining,” he added.