Central Government Wants to Take Revenge for Farmers’ Movement: Alleges AAP

Report by Jag Mohan Thaken 

04 November 2024, Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party once again attacked the BJP and the central government over the issues related to the purchase and lifting of paddy and alleged that the Central Government wants to take revenge for the farmers’ movement.

AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang alleged that this time the central government intentionally did not empty the warehouses to trouble the farmers of Punjab.

Kang stated that it is the routine procedure of the Food Supply Ministry of the Government of India for the FCI (Food Corporation of India) to lift old grains from its warehouses before the arrival of new grains in the mandi (markets) each year so that there is space available for grain shifting. This process has been in place for decades, not just for a year or two.

Addressing the media along with AAP leaders Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar and Shaminder Khinda at the party office in Chandigarh on Tuesday, Kang said that this time the central government intentionally did not empty the warehouses to trouble the farmers of Punjab. Now, as the controversy has escalated and the central government finds itself in a difficult position, it is misleading the people of Punjab through its minister Ravneet Bittu. The BJP has deliberately created this issue.

Kang raised questions regarding BJP leaders asking why the Chief Minister himself is not going to Delhi to resolve the matter. He questioned whether the BJP wants the Chief Minister of Punjab to beg the Prime Minister to empty the warehouses. If that is what they want, they should openly state that the Chief Minister will have to plead with the Prime Minister for a resolution.

Kang mentioned that since March, Punjab’s Food Supply Department has been writing letters to the FCI and the central ministry, requesting the lifting of grains. But the central government was sleeping like Kumbhakaran for nine months. He noted the dates, saying that the Punjab Food Supply Department first wrote to the FCI on March 5, followed by letters on March 11, 13, 19, and 22. In June, letters were sent on the 14th and 27th. A letter was also sent on September 3.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also spoke to Central Minister Prahlad Joshi on September 25 and met him in Delhi on September 30. The Chief Minister also met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister JP Nadda. Kang challenged the BJP to tell them whom else the Chief Minister should meet.

Kang stated that after the meeting with the Chief Minister, Prahlad Joshi claimed that 2 million metric tons would be cleared in October, while a total of 18.5 million metric tons of crops are expected to arrive in the mandi. He questioned why the warehouses were not emptied in time.

Kang pointed out that BJP leaders are portraying the Rs 44,000 crore Credit Control Limit (CCL) issued by the RBI for paddy purchases as a favour, when in fact it is the central government’s responsibility to manage purchases and storage. He accused the central government of trying to tarnish the reputation of the Punjab government to hide its own failures. He argued that the BJP is acting out of a desire to take revenge on the farmers and traders of Punjab, demonstrating its stepmotherly treatment of the state.

Kang praised the Punjab government and state officials for lifting 5 lac metric tons of grain on October 28 and assured that regardless of the central government’s efforts to create difficulties, the Punjab government will not let its farmers, traders, and millers face any issues. “We stand with them,” he concluded.

On the other hand, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Tuesday said both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were equally responsible for the harassment being suffered by farmers in Punjab due to the lack of timely procurement of their paddy crop which was forcing them to sell below the minimum support price.

Asserting that both these parties were responsible for the miserable condition of farmers in the State, senior SAD leader Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema said, “Had both the parties shouldered their responsibility in time, the present agricultural crisis could have been averted”. He went on to say, “Both these parties are hand in glove with each other and are taking revenge on the farmers for the Kisan Andolan launched against the three agricultural laws”.

Dr Cheema said it was pitiable that instead of solving the crisis, both AAP and the BJP were resorting to cheap politics by holding press conferences against each other and indulging in a blame game. Asserting that these press conferences were mere “tamashas”, Dr. Cheema said, “Such attempts to play to the galleries will not relieve the agony of farmers who are suffering in the grain markets and being forced to sell their produce below the market rate”.

Calling upon both parties to sit together and solve the problem being faced by farmers, Dr. Cheema said besides ensuring procurement of paddy, the appropriate rate for Basmati and lifting of last year’s paddy stocks from the State, immediate arrangements should be made to ensure adequate supply of DAP fertiliser to farmers for their upcoming paddy crop.

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