Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday lambasted at SAD president Sukhbir Badal for rubbing salt on the wounds of the farmers with his demand to double the ludicrous relief given to them by the Centre.
Lashing out at the former Deputy Chief Minister over his ridiculous statement, Capt Amarinder asked Sukhbir why he had not spoken up for the farmers all these years despite his Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) being a part of the ruling alliance at the Centre.
“The Central Government had already made a mockery of the farmers by announcing a meagre Rs 6,000 a year, which amounted to Rs 17 a day, to support them in their distress,” said the Chief Minister, adding that the SAD president had added to the insult with his shameless demand.
“Did he really believe a thousand rupees a month would help the beleaguered farmers, many of whom were being driven to suicide as a result of their massive debts, running into lakhs of rupees in several cases,” asked Capt Amarinder.
He said that unlike the previous SAD-BJP Government, which had failed to give even a penny to the distressed farmers during 10 years of their rule, Congress-led Punjab Government had already waived off over Rs 4514 crore of loans of 5.63 lakhs small and marginal farmers in the State.
Captain Amarinder Singh asked Sukhbir to stop misleading the people of Punjab, particularly the suffering farming community, by pretending to be concerned about their problems. The people will not forgive you, he warned the Akali leader.