Punjab Congress legislative Party (ClP) leader Sunil Jakhar on Sunday raised the issue of State’s sugarcane farmers and potato growers at the national level Kisan Rally, organised by the All India Congress Committee at New Delhi. Jakhar, himself a farmer, said that sugar-cane growers had been fighting pillar to post for recovery of whopping Rs19,000 crores against the produce which they had sold to different sugar mills, and payment of Rs682 crore dues was awaited by the farmers in Punjab.
In his maiden speech made at any national level political rally, Jakhar resented that potato growers were forced to throw the precious produce on roadsides as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy with long-awaited site seeing tour abroad. The mammoth gathering of farmers and farm workers during Congress rally depicted the anguish of the people against the 10-month old BJP-led NDA Government which had been selling false dreams to grab power to benefit corporate sector, he said.
“The Union Ministry of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs had directed the state government to not to grant bonus on wheat purchase as the Centre has dropped the decades long practice of announcing bonus to bail out farming community which is facing financial crisis due to non-remunerative prices of hard earned produce,” said Jakhar.
Blaming the NDA government for bias against Punjab farmers, Jakhar said that top leaders of the central government and the BJP keep on visiting Haryana but skip brief visits even to Punjab. “Norms for purchase were relaxed for purchase of food grains in other states but Punjab stands ignored,” he alleged.
Besides Jakhar, senior party leadership from Punjab, including the state party chief Partap Singh Bajwa, Congress Deputy leader in lok Sabha Capt Amarinder SIngh, former Finance Minister and MlA laal Singh, besides others reached the national capital to participate in the rally with their scores of supporters.