Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday attacked the BJP-led Centre, saying that they only defame the state over stubble burning. He further said that BJP leaders started blaming Punjab even before paddy harvesting began.
"We have been saying that Punjab smoke will reach Delhi if the wind blows north to west with a speed of at least 100 kmph, and then also, it will take three days to reach. But the wind does not blow from north to west; it blows from east to west or west to east. Why don't they tell anything to Haryana?" Mann told reporters during a news conference while replying to questions from reporters on the stubble burning issue.
"Paddy is grown there also. They keep giving us lessons to learn from Haryana on MSP, but what is the state of paddy procurement there whereas in Punjab we have met the procurement target. Rather, we will far exceed it by procuring 200 lakh metric tonnes against 180 lakh metric tonnes. We will procure every single grain of farmers," he added.
Asked that Pakistan Punjab authorities have also reportedly blamed stubble burning in Indian Punjab as one of the reasons for Lahore's poor air quality index, Mann quipped, "So, does the smoke from here reach there as well?"
He said UP and Haryana also grow paddy, but these states are never blamed for Delhi's pollution despite surrounding it from various sides.
Mann wondered how Punjab smoke directly reaches Delhi and hovers there without even travelling beyond. "They only defame Punjab. Even before paddy was to be harvested in Punjab, Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa started to blame Punjab," he said.
Mann said the stubble management issue does not pertain to Punjab alone and suggested that the Centre hold a meeting with the concerned states for a lasting solution.
"Now, you will take 200 lakh metric tonne from us, there will be stubble. So, why does the Centre not find a solution?
"The prime minister finds a solution to global problems; this issue is a problem of the entire North India. So, they should make these three to four states sit and find a solution," he said.
Mann, who had last month said that he had been invited to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore in Pakistan on November 27, said the political clearance for the visit is given by the Indian government.
Asked if he has taken permission from the Centre, Mann said, "We are doing the paperwork for that."
On whether permission is denied, the chief minister said, "We will wait for what they say. Political clearance has to be taken."
On Monday, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema had alleged that the BJP has spared no effort to defame Punjab farmers and said the state is unfairly blamed for Delhi's pollution whereas the national capital is surrounded by states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
(With inputs from PTI)
