Chandigarh, Oct 22 (PTI) The Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday slammed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the issue of “tardy” paddy procurement, accusing him of being directly responsible for the plight of farmers.
The opposition party said farmers were “suffering” because they had adhered to the appeal of the chief minister and sown early varieties of paddy like PR-126 which were now not being procured.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday held its core committee meeting under the chairmanship of the party’s working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar.
Briefing the media after the meeting, senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia said, “Both the chief minister and food and civil supplies minister Lal Chand Kataruchak should be proceeded against for failing to procure paddy and causing untold misery to farmers”.
A party delegation would meet Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria soon and apprise him of the situation, Majithia said.
He claimed that many farmers were also being “duped” by AAP functionaries and private players to offload their produce at rates which were Rs 300 to Rs 400 less than the MSP.
“We will also demand a CBI probe into the manner in which farmers are being forced to sell their produce below the minimum support price (MSP) at the instance of AAP functionaries and private players,” he said.
Majithia said the CM had appealed to the farmers to sow early varieties of paddy to save on water consumption, but now government agencies including Markfed, Pungrain and Punsup were not purchasing these paddy varieties causing untold misery to farmers.
The SAD leader said basmati farmers were also suffering huge losses with the crop selling at Rs 2,700 per quintal in mandis against last year’s price of Rs 4,000 per quintal.
“Farmers are facing a loss of as much as Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per acre but the government is not intervening to save the farmers”, he alleged.
The AAP government has been under fire from farmers and opposition parties for the “slow” paddy purchase and its lifting.
On the issue of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee elections, Majithia alleged, “The core committee received information from SGPC members that they are being approached by BJP functionaries as well as Punjab government officers at the behest of the AAP government to support Bibi Jagir Kaur’s candidature”.
The Shiromani Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar, a rebel faction of the SAD, has declared Jagir Kaur as its candidate for the post of SGPC president. The elections to the post will be held on October 28.
To a question on whether the SAD was contesting the forthcoming by-elections or not, Majithia said, “You should not believe in rumours”, and asserted the party’s parliamentary board would make its position clear very soon. PTI CHS RT RT
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.