Former Education Minister and MLA Pargat Singh on Friday visited grain markets, including village Jandiala in the Jalandhar Cantt constituency. He raised serious questions about the government’s approach towards procuring wheat lying in the mandis.
He alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is concerned about ED raids on his ministers and leaders, but has no concern for farmers and their crops. He said CM Mann has not spoken a single word in favor of farmers. In reality, this reflects the political weakness of the government and exposes its ill intent. He also held the central government responsible.
He expressed concern that heaps of wheat have accumulated in the mandis. There is a severe shortage of gunny bags. Neither procurement is taking place nor is lifting being carried out. The weather is also unfavorable. There are no proper arrangements, not even tarpaulins, to protect the crop.
If it rains, who will be responsible? The government will then claim that the grain is unfit for consumption, and the FCI will refuse to lift it, leading to heavy losses for farmers. However, if lifting is done simultaneously, such a situation can be avoided.
Farmers are distressed due to the government’s attitude and poor management regarding wheat procurement. They have been sitting in mandis for 5–6 days, but their crops are not being purchased. After 6 months of hard work, they have prepared their crop. Due to adverse weather, there is also a risk of the grains turning black.
In recent days, unseasonal rain and hailstorms have already caused significant damage to crops. The government has not provided any compensation to farmers so far. The government should stop worrying about its leaders and focus on farmers.
It must immediately ensure the lifting of crops. Farmers are being forced to block railways in protest against the lack of procurement of their crops. The government and procurement agencies appear unaffected.Pargat Singh said that even during previous Congress governments, farmers never had to wait for procurement of their crops.
Even during COVID, procurement was ensured. But the Aam Aadmi Party is only concerned about Raghav Chadha’s security. The government should care about Punjab’s farmers instead. He added that the Bharatiya Janata Party has been troubling farmers for a long time, and now the Aam Aadmi Party is doing the same. Both parties are anti-farmer.