Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, August 2: The Punjab Congress President Mr Partap Singh Bajwa today described suicides by three farmers in the state on a single day as a blot on the face of the Akali Dal-BJP government headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal who had been proclaiming himself as a champion of the farming community during his entire political career.
He said all three farmers including Mr Bikar Singh, Mr Naib Singh and Mr Karamvir Singh resorted to this extreme step for the same reason which was economic distress. “Punjab at one time used to take pride in being agriculturally the most advanced state and harbinger of Green Revolution that provided food security to the country. Now the farmers are deep in crisis and the situation has been getting compounded after coming into power of the NDA government at the centre in which the Akali Dal has a powerful representation”, he added.
He reminded Mr Badal that he had been blaming the Congress for the ills afflicting the farm sector forgetting that the increase in the minimum support prices had been the highest during ten year rule of the UPA and it was that government led by Dr Manmohan Singh that came out with a package for farmers. He said Mr Badal himself had been heading the government in the state since 2007 but had not taken a single step to mitigate the problems of the farmers.
He asked Mr Badal to list even a single pro-farmer step announced by the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi who had rather been working to promote the corporates at the cost of the farmers and the proposed amendments to the land acquisition legislation was the single most important proof. He said the farmers had now lost all hope and had further added to their misery. Even the MSP system was proposed to be dismantled.
Mr Bajwa said the Rs 3 lakh compensation announced by the state government to the family of the farmer committing suicide was a meagre amount but the problem was even that was not being denied to many.
