Chandigarh, November 9
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab senior leader and Leader of Opposition, Harpal Singh Cheema termed the Punjab government’s order to stop the procurement of paddy from the mandis of the state as a ‘Tughlaqi farman’ and demanded that the procurement of paddy in all government mandis be continued. Due to bad weather, the ripening and harvesting of paddy has been delayed this time due to which about 20 percent of the crop is yet to reach the mandis. Cheema said that despite the delay in harvesting of paddy due to natural calamity, the Modi government and the Channi government were deliberately stopping procurement in government mandis; so that paddy smuggled from outside states could be forcibly consumed in Punjab’s account.
He said that the deadly consequence of this would be that the farmers would be compelled to sell their crop to the corporators and private buyers below the MSP. In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Tuesday, Harpal Singh Cheema said, “Paddy harvesting has been delayed in Punjab due to unseasonal rains. About 20 percent of the paddy crop is standing in the fields across the state. However, the Punjab government has issued an anti-farmer certificate by issuing orders to stop procurement of paddy from government mandis.” He said that along with natural calamities, the centre and Punjab government were responsible for the paddy harvest; which started the procurement with incomplete arrangements and delay. But the Punjab and Union government have started punishing the farmers of Punjab.
Harpal Singh Cheema alleged that the action to stop the procurement of paddy in the government mandis of Punjab seems to be the result of a conspiracy involving the Narendra Modi-led central government and the Channi government of Punjab. He said while the Modi government was preparing to destroy government mandis of the state; the Punjab government on the other hand, was trying to hide the statistics of paddy sold in Punjab by importing it from outside and protecting the paddy mafia.
The AAP leader said that when the procurement was sanctioned by the Centre till November 30, on what basis the Punjab government was taking the decision to close the mandis on November 11. He said that this decision would prove fatal for the farmers, arhtiyas, laborers and transporters. Cheema demanded from the Punjab government to continue the government procurement of paddy in the mandis of the state; so that the farmers would not be robbed by the corporators and strict action would be taken against the sellers of paddy imported from outside the state.
Discussions
Discussions
