Even as the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already announced not to put any demand before the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Sri Anandpur Sahib on June 19, the State Congress on Friday demanded that Modi should ensure that the State’s farmers’ interests are protected and their woes are mitigated by the NDA Government at the Centre.
The party has posed three questions to Modi regarding Sikh farmers in Gujarat, dismantling of Food Corporation of India, and one regarding farmers’ suicide. “We want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi what he will give to the farmers of Punjab when he comes to Anandpur Sahib on June 19,” said Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa.
Bajwa insisted that Modi should ensure, during his Punjab visit, how to mitigate the woes of debt-ridden farmers of Punjab particularly in the wake of rising number of suicide cases among the crop growers. “Of late, the trend of suicides by farmers has picked up in the state which is a very serious issue,” Bajwa claimed while accusing the SAD-BJP led state government of not paying compensation to rain-hit growers without divulging the number of suicides.
“Badal had announced Rs8,000 per acre compensation to affected growers and nothing has been given so far,” he claimed. Badal had, on June 3, said that he would not put any demand before the Prime Minister who will be visiting Punjab for the commemoration of 350th year of Sri Anandpur Sahib on June 19. Modi had given his consent to attend the gala event on June 19 on Badal’s request.
Bajwa demanded that relief should be announced for debt-ridden growers of Punjab. “If you (Modi) can give one billion US dollars for Mongolia then why you cannot announce any relief for growers,” he asked. He questioned Modi about the fate of Punjabi farmers settled in Gujarat who are facing the threat of eviction from their lands. He asked Modi as to why the Gujarat Government had not withdrawn the special leave petition filed against the decision of the high court that had given relief to these farmers.
Modi must clarify the government stand on the proposed dismantling of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and remove all doubts in this regard, he demanded adding that the farmers must be assured that the present system of procurement would continue. The farmers should also be told as to which variety of paddy they should cultivate to save them from the harassment during procurement, he said. The State Congress chief also expressed the apprehensions that, going by what happened in Jammu and ludhiana a day before, certain forces had hatched a deep-rooted conspiracy to divide the people but such mischiefs would not be allowed to succeed.
Condemning the incidents at these places, Bajwa made it clear that the Congress was a secular party. “I returned from Delhi last night itself in the wake of the unfortunate incident at ludhiana involving party secretary Parminder Mehta in ludhiana who had been suspended from the party as his action was provocative,” he said. Bajwa claimed that he knew as to which agency was behind all this but refused to identify the same. Punjab had already suffered much and such incidents would be allowed to be repeated, he said. He asserted that no one would be allowed to play with peace which would be maintained at all costs.