Ministers, legislators hardly seen in mandis: Farm unions

Farmers have received no support from the cabinet ministers and MLAs when it comes to procurement and lifting of produce from grain markets.

Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary, Bharti Kisan Union, said, “AAP leaders are hardly seen in mandis. Some of them meet farmers just to get themselves clicked. None of them has made any effort to solve the crisis.”

Kokrikalan said, “Ehna de leader kisan ton darre hoye ne. Ehna kol koi jawaab nahin saade sawallan da (Their leaders are scared of farmers. They have no answers to our questions.”

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has not visited any mandi in his Dhuri Assembly segment. Finance Minister Harpal Cheema has not gone to Dirba and MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj has not visited grain market in the Sangrur segment.

All these Assembly segments are in the area where the BKU (Ugrahan) has maximum presence on ground.

Procurement has been slightly better in Amritsar where Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal has visited mandis, he said.

Cabinet Minister Mohinder Bhagat visited Jalandhar grain market yesterday and Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh went to Nawanshahr today to get clicked, said a farm activist. “In Sirhind, MLAs from Fatehgarh Sahib, Amloh and Bassi Pathana came when the procurement started. “No minister or MLA has visited us as our produce is lying in mandis for the past several days,” said a farm leader.

Balbir Rajewal, chief, BKU (Rajewal), said, “In fact, we don’t have any government in Punjab. The leaders can’t face the farmers sitting in grain markets. The entire procurement system has collapsed in the state.”