CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the PM Narendra Modi-led Union government is using the West Asia conflict as a shield to hide the collapse of its foreign and economic policies.
He also added that he is pushing the country towards an undeclared lockdown-like situation.
CM Mann said no other country affected by the global crisis has asked its citizens to stop buying petrol, diesel, gas or gold, adding that the central government owes the nation answers on the actual status of India’s reserves instead of spreading panic and inconvenience.
Targeting PM Modi over his foreign policy, CM Mann said the leadership that once claimed India would become a “Vishav Guru” has reduced the country to a “Vishav Chela".
CM Mann also pointed out that the Prime Minister’s foreign visits have yielded little for ordinary Indians except benefits for a handful of favoured industrialists who accompany him abroad for business deals.
Interacting with media persons on the sidelines of launching an ambitious project to place high-tension wires underground in Sangrur, Mann said the Union government has completely failed on both foreign and economic policy fronts, due to which the country is in disarray.
"The Union government failed to anticipate the gravity of the situation arising out of the Gulf War, leading to complete chaos in the country.”
He pointed out, “It is an irony that the war has taken place between Israel and Iran, for India to suffer. The situation is not so grim in any other neighbouring country. This is because the Union government is seeking consent from friends sitting in the US for even a small decision to be taken here."
“Instead of putting the country virtually in a state of lockdown, the Prime Minister should honestly convey to the country the situation of oil, LPG and gold reserves,” he added.
He alleged that the country cannot be run in such an irresponsible manner where the Prime Minister urges people to observe austerity measures while indulging in opulence, by itself.
“The Prime Minister continues his foreign sojourns while appealing to the countrymen to refrain from them. In the last 14 years, the Prime Minister has never briefed the media, country or Parliament about the outcome of his several foreign trips,” he added.
Mann claimed that people will face more hardship in the coming days as fuel prices are expected to continue escalating.
“There will be no end to the agonies of the people as the Union government is suffering from an anti-people mindset. People will continue to reel under a massive burden as the Union government has just woken up from deep slumber, as they were busy in election mode,” he added.
Meanwhile, Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar highlighted that international prices of DAP and urea fertilisers had surged sharply due to the Gulf conflict, but the Centre remained committed to ensuring uninterrupted fertiliser supply to farmers.
Jakhar stated that the country is importing urea at nearly Rs 100 per kilogram, while farmers are receiving it at only Rs 6 per kilogram. He added that the Modi government is providing Rs 4,250 subsidy per bag on urea and Rs 3,200 subsidy per bag on DAP fertiliser.
Jakhar also claimed that Punjab annually consumes 6.88 crore bags of urea and 1.60 crore bags of DAP. He further stated that wheat-paddy farmers were effectively receiving fertiliser support worth around Rs 42,000 per acre.
Jakhar reiterated that the Union Government would ensure there is no shortage of fertilisers. However, he urged farmers to utilise fertilisers judiciously and as per agricultural university recommendations to reduce wastage and preserve soil health.
Responding to another question, Jakhar criticised what he called misinformation being spread regarding petroleum prices.
He claimed fuel prices had risen only 3 per cent in India compared to 42 per cent in Pakistan, 39.5 percent in Nepal, 35 per cent in the United States, 40 per cent in the UAE and 33 per cent in Sri Lanka.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring took a jibe at the Punjab BJP president, Sunil Jakhar, for thanking PM Modi for the fertiliser subsidy.
He said that the fertiliser subsidy has been the official policy of all the governments for a long time, and Modi was not the first one to grant it, as Jakhar seems to make everyone believe.
He reminded the BJP leader that the Prime Minister had also asked the farmers to avoid using fertilisers. “What is the point in claiming to provide subsidies on fertilisers when, at the same time, you tell them not to use them?” he asked.
