Government job for deceased farmers’ kin: CM

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 22

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today announced jobs for one member of each of the families of the state’s farmers who had lost their lives in the agitation against the “black” laws.

Hitting out at the Centre, the Chief Minister said it should repeal the laws, sit with farmers and frame new laws after taking all stakeholders into confidence. Pointing out that the Constitution of India had already been amended so many times, he asked why the Government of India was adamant about not taking back the farm laws.

Slamming the central government for pushing the laws through Parliament with brute majority without any discussion, the Chief Minister said the entire country was paying the price for this. “Is there a Constitution in the country? Agriculture is a state subject under Schedule 7, so why has the Centre interfered with a state subject?” he said, adding that “it went ahead and enacted these laws without consulting anyone, because

of which we all have landed in this situation”.

Asserting that “we are with the farmers and will stand by them,” the Chief Minister said during the 20th edition of his Facebook Live #AskCaptain session that the Punjab Government and every person in Punjab stood with farmers.

The sad part, said the Chief Minister, was that “we are losing our farmers to the cold every day, with an estimated 76 farmers dying so far”. In addition to the Rs 5 lakh compensation being given to the families of the deceased farmers, his government

would also give a job to a family member, he added.

Replying to a question by a Ferozepur resident, the Chief Minister said the Akalis and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were spreading lies on the issue of the high-powered committee on the agricultural reforms, as exposed by an RTI response. Pointing out that Punjab was not even included initially in the committee, he said it was only after he wrote to the Centre that Punjab’s name was added, by which time the first meeting had already taken place without the state’s representation. The second meeting was attended by Manpreet Badal as financial issues were discussed, while in the third and final meeting, no politician was invited.

On the NIA notices to some farmers and supporters of the farmer agitation, the Chief Minister told the news editor of a New Zealand Punjabi weekly that it was a wrong step and he would be writing soon to the Union Home Minister on the issue.

‘Centre interfered in state subject’

Slamming the Centre for pushing the laws through Parliament without any discussion, the Chief Minister said the entire country was paying the price for this. “Agriculture is a state subject under Schedule 7, so why has the Centre interfered with a state subject,” he asked, adding that “it went ahead and enacted the laws without consulting anyone”.

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