Promising adequate provision for farm loan waiver in 2018-19 budget to be unveiled on March 24, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday challenged the Akalis, led by its president Sukhbir Badal, to gherao the Parliament to pressurize the BJP-led Central Government into waiving off farmers’ debts instead of indulging in theatrics outside the state assembly on the issue.
Flaying Sukhbir’s call for a gherao of the Vidhan Sabha on the first day of the Budget session on Tuesday, Capt Amarinder ridiculed him for shedding crocodile tears for the farmers after failing to do anything for them during 10 years of the SAD-BJP rule.
“Not only had the Akalis failed to extend even an iota of support to Punjab’s distressed farming community under their regime, they had also not done anything to persuade the BJP-led Central Government in the past four years to come out with a debt waiver scheme for the beleaguered farmers of the country,” he said.
Sukhbir’s stand on the issue was preposterous considering the fact that despite his wife, Harsimrat Badal, being a member of the Union Cabinet, and inspite of the fact that the BJP was an ally of his party, the SAD president had made no effort whatsoever to secure central help for the debt-ridden farmers of Punjab, he added.
Capt Amarinder said that if Sukhbir was really concerned about the plight of the farmers, he would have taken up the issue with the Centre and managed to secure some relief for the aggrieved community in the past four years, instead of engaging in chest-beating antics after the Congress came to power in Punjab.
He also promised to make adequate provision for farm loan waiver in 2018-19 budget saying that his government’s commitment on the issue was sacrosanct.
“Around 82,000 farmers have already been issued debt waiver certificates by the government, with a clear roadmap for settling the loans of all 10.25 lakh small and marginal farmers, covered under the debt waiver scheme, by November 2018,” he added.
Despite the severe financial constraints, which was also a legacy inherited from the SAD-BJP, the debt waiver scheme announced by his government was well on the track of implementation, said Capt Amarinder adding that this was in sharp contrast with the erstwhile SAD-BJP government’s policy with respect to the farming community.
lambasting Sukhbir for eroding the sanctity of the democratic institution of the Vidhan Sabha with his gherao call, Capt Amarinder said: “If he really has a strong case against the Congress government, he should place it on record, inside the House, rather than resorting to such shameless tactics that can only lead to hassles for the citizens and a waste of their money.”