The Punjab Congress on Monday described the suicides by three farmers in the State on a single day as a blot on the face of SAD-BJP Government headed by Parkash Singh Badal who had been proclaiming himself as a ‘champion of the farming community’ during his entire political career.
All three farmers including Bikar Singh, Naib Singh and Karamvir Singh resorted to this extreme step for the same reason which is economic distress, said State Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa.
“Punjab, at one time, used to take pride in being agriculturally the most advanced state and harbinger of green revolution that provided food security to the country. Now, the farmers are deep in crisis and the situation has been getting compounded after coming into power of the NDA Government at the Centre in which the Akali Dal has a powerful representation,” he said.
Bajwa reminded Badal that he had been blaming the Congress for the ills afflicting the farm sector forgetting that the increase in minimum support prices (MSP) had been the highest during 10-year rule of the UPA and it was that Government led by Dr Manmohan Singh that came out with a package for the farmers. “Badal himself has been heading the Government in the state since 2007 but had not taken a single step to mitigate the farmers’ problems,” he said.
The State Congress chief asked Badal to list even a single pro-farmer step announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had rather been working to promote the corporates at the cost of farmers and proposed amendments to the land acquisition legislation was the single most important proof.
Bajwa said that `3 lakh compensation announced by the State Government to the family of the farmer committing suicide was a meagre amount but the problem was even that was not being denied to many.