Chandigarh, 23 December
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab MLA and State President of Kisan Wing Kultar Singh Sandhwan accused the Congress government of not resolving the issues of farmers and said that Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was only holding meetings with farmers’ organizations as a formality. The decisions taken by the government, after their previous meetings with the farmers, have not been implemented yet; as they know their days are numbered in the power. He said that people will hold Congress government accountable for their breach of promise and they would punish the Congress party for this.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters on Thursday, Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that during the Punjab elections of 2017, the Congress party had promised to waive all kinds of debts of the farmers. Not only was the promise made, but it was also stated in their election manifesto and loan waiver forms were submitted by the farmers. They also promised to provide financial assistance and other facilities to the families of the farmers who committed suicide due to debt burden. Sandhwan alleged that the Congress government, even after five years, had neither waived any debts of the farmers nor provided financial assistance to the families of the suicide victims. The cases registered by the Punjab Police against the farmers during the farmers’ agitation are still under consideration too.
Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that Chief Minister Mr. Charanjit Singh Channi is also following in the footsteps of former Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh and is holding meetings on farmers’ issues for the sake of formality alone. The decisions taken by Chief Minister Channi during his previous meetings with the farmers were also not implemented. The Congress government has not even given proper compensation to all the farmers for the cotton crop which was destroyed due to the infestation of pink bollworm, while the farmers are demanding Rs. 20,000 per acre from the government. He said that it was ridiculous that the Congress government was demanding lists of farmers who had committed suicide. In five years, has the Congress government not even been able to gather information on the number of farmers who have committed suicide, questioned Shandhawan.
MLA Sandhwan demanded that the Congress government should clarify its stand on complete waiver of loans to farmers. Instead of making a fuss, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi should say whether he will sign away the entire debt of the farmers or not. If the debts are to be waived, how long will Congress take, as they have hardly two weeks left?
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