Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday minced no words to describe the prevalent system for price fixation of crops as ‘redundant’. Badal, at the same time, demanded from the Centre to set up a high-powered committee for fixing crops’ prices coupled with evolving ways and means to make agriculture a remunerative preposition. Besides, he also batted for implementing Swaminathan formula to fix crop process.
Interacting with the mediapersons on the sidelines of Shiromani Akali Dal’s political conference to mark Baisakhi festival, Badal said that the existing mechanism wherein the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) of the Government of India (GoI) fixes the price of crops every year was obsolete.
“The need of the hour is to do away with it by forming a high-powered committee comprising of agri-experts, officers and other imminent people to bail out the farmer from current agrarian crisis,” said Badal, who was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Five-time Chief Minister said that besides fixation of prices, the committee must also be entrusted the task of rejuvenating agriculture through extensive research and design activities. “I would soon formally take up this issue with the Union Government so that the hard working and resilient farmers of the country could be saved,” he said.
Batting for implementation of Dr Swaminathan formula for fixing the crop prices, the Chief Minister said that it was the need of the hour to implement the formula which stipulates cost plus 50 percent profit to benefit the farmers. He expressed hope that since this was an important part of the BJP’s manifesto in general polls, so the NDA government would implement it soon.
“The farmers cannot be saved by giving nominal MSPs to them as recommended by the arm chair agri-experts, while sitting in their cozy offices in New Delhi, but the MSP must be fixed as per Dr M Swaminathan formula if the country’s food security is to be preserved,” he added.
Batting for MSP mechanism for the procurement of crops, Badal said that any move of parting away from it could prove detrimental for the country. “Agriculture is as the backbone of nation’s economy and any move to abolish MSP system could break this vital component of Indian economy,” he said.
Badal, slamming the Congress party for its anti-Punjab stance while addressing the gathering earlier, said that the Congress was inimical to the state from day one as it denied Punjab of its legitimate territorial rights in terms of its capital, share in river water besides attacking on Sri Durbar Sahib thereby hurting the religious sentiments of the Punjabis in general and Sikh community in particular.
Reiterating that some forces inimical to the progress and prosperity of the state were trying to disturb the hard-earned peace, he said that the SAD-BJP alliance government was fully determined to crush the ugly head of such forces.
HARSIMRAT URGES PEOPlE TO SHUN FOETICIDE
Harbinger of ambitious ‘Nanhi Chhan’ project, the Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has urged the people to save the girl child by shunning the practice of female foeticide. She also exhorted the people to make whole-hearted efforts for checking crime against women in the society.
Calling upon the people to follow the footsteps of great Sikh gurus to serve the humanity with utmost zeal and dedication, she said: “It is the moral duty of every individual present in this conference to pledge and follow the tenets of Sikhism.”
She said that Sikh history was full of countless sacrifices made by the Sikh gurus and their followers for the sake of protection of weaker sections of the society, which must be emulated by one and all.
SUKHBIR ASSAIlS RAHUl FOR TARNISHING PUNJAB’S IMAGE
Deputy Chief Minister and SAD president Sukhbir Badal assailed the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for unleashing a malicious campaign to defame the hard working and resilient Punjabis.
“Rahul Gandhi and Congress party have hatched a conspiracy to tarnish the image of Punjabis by labeling them as drug addicts whereas it is a fact that Punjab is fighting nation’s war against drug,” said Sukhbir while addressing the gathering. Sukhbir said that Punjab has checked the drug flowing from across the border thereby saving millions of youth from the scourge of drugs. Recalling the SAD’s “glorious” track record in serving the countrymen, Sukhbir said that the party was the second oldest party of the country, which has always struggled for the cause of the country and its people.
“Some parties mislead the people by populist slogans but in reality they turn to be ‘water bubble’ which bursts with the passage of time…AAP is one such party, which has failed to deliver anything to the people. Announcements regarding free water to people, end of VVIP culture and others made by AAP have failed to turn into reality,” said Sukhbir. Also promising that Punjab would witness unprecedented growth and development in the coming one and half year, Sukhbir urged the people to not get swayed away by the misleading campaign by some people and join hands with the SAD for ensuring progress of the state and prosperity of its people.
“On the one hand, neither Bajwa nor Capt Amarinder and not even AAP are concerned for Punjab; and on the other hand, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has dedicated his entire life for welfare of Punjab and Punjabis,” he added.
BAJWA’S SHOW OF STRENGTH AT CONG CONFERENCE
At the time when infighting is at its peak within the Congress party in Punjab, the supporters of State Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa did not fail him and were present during the party’s political conference at Takht Damadama Sahib.
Senior leaders including former Minister and sitting MlA lal Singh, MlA Brahm Mohindra, MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, MlAs Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Parminder Singh Pinky, Surinder Dawar, Bajwa’s MlA wife Charanjit Kaur Bajwa, among others were present.
Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his coterie including Congress legislative Party (ClP) Sunil Kumar Jakhar, and band of MlAs, stayed away from the party event.