Punjab Congress legislature party leader Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday held Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal responsible for the harassment of the farmers in the mandis who have to wait for days for their produce to be procured.
Channi also warned the Government to address the problems of the farmers in Mandis, failing which Punjab congress will start agitation in the Dana Mandis of Punjab.
“The farmers have to wait on an average for three days to get their wheat crop auctioned by the procurement agencies. Then there is the long wait for payment, as money is not being released. The Badal Government fails every procurement season despite the fact that all the problems remain the same and can be taken care of well in advance. However, it seems that the only interest of the ruling party leaders is in making money,” he said after visiting Mandis in the Chamkaur Sahib area.
He said the decision of the Centre and the banks to hold back cash credit limit was proof enough of mismanagement and corruption and this has happened only under Badal regime. He claimed there were never any hiccups in procurement operations during
all the five years of the Congress rule earlier.
Terming the recent meeting of Badal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a cruel joke for the farmers Channi said that after the produce is lying in the Mandis, the Chief Minister has suddenly wakened up and approached the Centre for procurement while the Punjab Government itself is totally bankrupt.