Slamming the Congress party for ‘shedding crocodile tears’ on the issues of farmers, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday said that ‘Kisan Rally’ organised by the Congress in New Delhi was “nothing more than a political gimmick”.
Badal, interacting with the media persons after presiding over the fourth convocation of Shaheed Bhagat Singh State Technical Campus, said that it was a fact that the farmers’ of the country were facing a number of problems only due to the regressive policies of the Congress party.
Questioning the logic behind organising the Kisan rally in New Delhi, he said that the Congress was the root cause of the agonies of the farmers so it has no moral right to organise such a rally. “This rally is a political gimmick, the sole aim of which is to score brownie points before media rather than solving any problem faced by the farmers,” added Badal.
Terming that the time tested ‘Punjab model’ of land acquisition, which had been successfully implemented in the state for over past many years, was the best in the country, the Chief Minister said that in Punjab, the farmers had been fully compensated whenever any land had been acquired for development.
“Ever since assuming power in 2007, we have been pursuing a pro-farmer policy of land acquisition, which is a role model for the entire country,” he added. Batting for opening of the trade through Hussainiwala and Fazilka borders, Badal said that though it was an international matter, the state government would make concerted efforts for opening these borders as it would usher in an era of unprecedented development and prosperity in the entire Punjab.
“Since Punjab is a landlocked State, opening of trade through these borders could boost the economic activity in the region. The items currently traded through Attari border should also be brought at par with those traded through Mumbai-Karachi sea route,” he said.
Squarely blaming the previous UPA Government for spiralling prices of sand and gravel in the State, he said that the UPA Government deliberately denied the permission to state government for auctioning the mines in the state, which led to hike in prices of sand and gravel. “The prices of sand would be reduced soon as the NDA Government has now given permission to the State for mining,” he added.