Chandigarh/Jalandhar, February 16
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the party’s Punjab President and Chief Ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann (MP Sangrur) assured the farmers of the state for ‘Mission-2022’ that AAP government will never let Anndatas face inconvenience in the mandis.
During a special address on Punjab’s farmers, Arvind Kejriwal said that farmers are the backbone of the country’s economy but it is so unfortunate that today they are facing dire financial crises. According to reports, the farmers of Punjab have a debt of about Rs. 1 lakh crore. Previous governments of Congress, SAD and BJP are directly responsible for it. He said that like the Badal government, the Congress government did not procure crops on time and payments were too delayed.
Arvind Kejriwal said that the Aam Aadmi Party is forming a government with a record majority in 2022, and the agriculture sector would be given top priority and crop losses would be compensated like Delhi. In Delhi farmers who are facing crop damage loses are compensated with Rs. 20,000 per acre and they’re not harassed with delayed payments or inspection.
Arvind Kejriwal said that the AAP government would not allow the farmers to be harassed in the mandis and would provide permanent relief from the financial and mental exploitation. “We will ensure that farmers do not face any trouble in the mandis for selling of their crops, full value of all crops and immediate payment will be ensured. In this regard, the government will take responsibility and accountability in advance under a concrete policy.”
Bhagwant Mann said that the people of Punjab and the entire economy of Punjab are based on agriculture but the governments till date have never paid any attention to the farmers. Punjab, which has a special place in world for its farming sector, does not have an agricultural policy. The entire focus of the Congress-Captain and Badal-BJP was on looting Punjab and all the resources and resources of the Punjabis, no one thought of selflessly protecting the interests and lives of the farmers and farm labourers. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is an example of it. The university was established to develop new seeds and research in the agriculture sector. PAU is in such a miserable condition at present that it is not able to save even its own crops from diseases and pests, because PAU does not have any fund for new research. PAU does not even have money to pay salaries to its employees. As soon as the Aam Aadmi Party government is formed, special budget provision will be introduced for all Farming Research Centres including PAU.
Bhagwant Mann said that the fatal consequence of the apathy of the governments was that the farmers and labourers of Punjab, who were feeding the whole country, went to sleep hungry. Current condition of farmers, buried under the weight of unbearable debt and falling into the trap of committing suicide in despair, is a tragedy that shames the entire nation and the country.
Bhagwant Mann said that every section and business of Punjab is directly connected with agriculture, so when agriculture will be a profitable business, then the economic growth of all other classes, shopkeepers, arhtiyas, traders and industrialists is bound to happen automatically.
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