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Chandigarh, The Punjab Congress President, Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, today flayed the decision of the Narendra Modi government fixing new norms about paddy procurement and milling as yet another big set back to the state after the rejection of the demand of the Akali Dal-BJP government for special package as anti-Punjab, anti-farmer and anti-miller. He said in case the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his party had any self-respect, the party should come out of the Modi government.
In a statement, he strongly opposed to decision of the centre to bring down the paddy moisture content limit from 15 to 14 per cent as this would adversely affect both farmers as well as the millers. Even earlier, the procurement agencies had been rejecting paddy on the slight pretext of higher moisture content. Moreover, this would create further complications for the rice millers as milling would not be conducive under the new norms.
He expressed the apprehension that due to untimely rains in the region, the moisture content was likely to be higher and it would take more time to dry the paddy.
The PPCC chief said yet another decision that would directly hit the millers was the reduction in the paddy milling period by about two months. Earlier, the time limit set for the paddy milling was June 30 which had now been brought down to April 15. With the amount of paddy coming to the mandis in this state, it would be impossible for the millers to complete this job during this curtailed period.
He lambasted Mr Badal for not raising his voice against this anti-Punjab decisions by his own government at the centre as all along, he had been promising people that the change in the government at the centre would end all alleged discrimination by the UPA government and the state would usher in a new era.
“It is the Union Finance Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, who had earlier rubbished Mr Badal’s motivated propaganda against the previous UPA government while rejecting the demand for a special package on the ground that the state had been getting more than its quota of funds from the UPA government. This was the first set back to the Badal government. The decision on the new paddy norms is yet another salvo. Now the people have a right to know from Mr Badal as to whether it was the UPA government which, in his own words, was meting out step-motherly treatment to Punjab or the Modi government. It is his moral duty to clarify his perverted perception”, he added.
He wanted to know whether Union Minister for Food Processing, Mrs Harsimrat Kaur Badal, from the Akali Dal quota in the Modi government was party to this decision or not. He said it was the earlier NDA government which had given industrial concessions to the neighbouring states when Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal was the Union Minister of State for Industries. The two situations had strong parallels. The situation demanded explanation from Mr Badal, he said.
