CHANDIGARH: Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Amarinder Singh visited Asia’s largest grain market, Khanna grain market in Punjab, highlighting the `tardy’ paddy procurement.
He lashed out at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann saying that Mann should visit the grain market himself, talk to centre and get the issue resolved. He further said that he would urge the central government to intervene to ensure a smoother procurement.
However, his visit has further charged the already heated political scene in the state.
Amarinder Singh said, "I visited Khanna Dana Mandi today and met with our hardworking farmers, arhtiyas and labourers. Unfortunately, they are facing hurdles due to a tardy job of procurement planning by the Punjab AAP government as there is a procurement problem across all grain markets in the state. When I was CM for nine and half years there was never such a problem and procurement was hassle free. The present Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should go to Delhi and talk to the centre and meet the PM and Home Minister and FCI officials.’’
Amarinder questioned, "Has CM Mann visited any grain market in the state since procurement began? When I was CM I had no problem with PM Modi or Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the centre always cooperated with us.’’
"I have assured the farmers and arthiyas that I will urge the central government to intervene to ensure a smoother procurement,’’ he said.
Amarinder is still seen by farmers as a Chief Minister under whose nine-year tenure there were no problems in wheat and paddy procurement. The farmers recall how they did not have to languish in the mandis and the payments too were smooth.
Amarinder. now a BJP leader is being blamed along with the BJP for the ongoing paddy crisis by the AAP government. He has taken the challenge head-on, by visiting the grain market and interacting directly with farmers.
After visiting the grain market at Khanna, Amarinder returned to his farmhouse in Siswan near Chandigarh as he skipped a tentative visit to Moti Bagh Palace in Patiala. Singh was supposed to visit other places as well but he was told about the scheduled farmer protest and possible traffic hiccups due to which all other meetings were cancelled.
Activists of the farmer union BKU Ekta Ugrahan have been staging protests outside his residence in Patiala for the past eight days. Amarinder has not attended public events for more than two years and did not even participate in the Lok Sabha poll campaign, which saw his wife Preneet Kaur contest from Patiala.
The AAP government is having a serious face-off with the BJP over the non-lifting of the paddy due to issues with rice millers.
Reacting to Amarinder Singh's visit to Khanna grain market, senior leader of the AAP and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that Amarinder often meets with Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but why has he never raised the issues of Punjab's farmers and commission agents in front of them. Cheema claimed that Amarinder's political career had ended.
"Since the public has rejected him, he is now pretending to show sympathy for farmers by visiting the mandis. The people of Punjab know that the entire problem has been created by the central government. The central government has not lifted rice from warehouses on time and has not listened to the concerns of the millers and commission agents, causing distress to farmers and arhtiyas in Punjab,’’ he said.
"Amarinder’s party hates Punjab. They hate the farmers and commission agents of Punjab, and that is why they are deliberately harassing them. He knows that the central government has withheld thousands of crores from various funds meant for Punjab. The central government has been holding back RDP, MDF, and NHM funds for years, but Captain has never raised these issues before the centre,’’ Cheema added.