Mounting pressure on the Badal government over the alleged `31,000 crore food grain scam, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday promised farmers that he would personally take up the problem of grain procurement with the Union Food Minister in Delhi.
“I will go and meet the Union Food Minister and request him to expedite the procurement process,” he thundered to a huge applause as his roadshow reached the Muktsar dana mandi on the third day of the campaign.
Alleging a nexus between the ruling Akalis and the procurement agents at the mandis, Capt Amarinder accused the latter of deliberately not purchasing the grain in order to push the farmers to a state of desperation, where they would be willing to sell off their paddy even at low rates. The agents and the Akalis then pocket the difference, while the already burdened farmers end up with increased debts, often causing them to take the extreme step of suicide, he claimed.
The farmers alleged that as a result of this nexus, not only was their grain not being lifted on time but they were also not being paid in time. The farmers complained to Captain Amarinder Singh that they still hadn’t received their payment for the last wheat procurement.
Earlier, on way to Muktsar, Captain Amarinder’s roadshow passed through Gidderbaha constituency.