Jakhar puts the spotlight on BJP’s farmer-friendly credentials and debunks AAP’s phony face.
Jakhar puts the spotlight on BJP’s farmer-friendly credentials and debunks AAP’s phony face.
— Trust in the faction-driven Farmer Unions dwindling: Sunil Jakhar.
— State BJP president lays thrust on augmenting income of small, marginal farmers.
— Petrified Cong leaders have ceded before Mann, and can’t align with farmers’ cause.
Ten years of Modi rule chiefly benefited farmers; Jakhar
Chandigarh, May 15
Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar today highlighted a slew of farmer-friendly measures initiated by the Modi-led BJP government at the Centre debunking the false narrative being scripted by the AAP and Congress in Punjab to divert attention from their failures. Jakhar cited a huge upsurge in pay out to farmers in Punjab by the Centre saying the increase in payments were in line with BJP’s commitment to double the farmer’s income.
While reiterating that issues of agitating farmers can only be addressed by the next BJP government at the Centre, which he said was now inevitable, Jakhar also brought to fore a string of anti-farmer measures under the current AAP dispensation in Punjab that has pushed farmers into distress.
Addressing a press conference here today, the state BJP president said, “In 2014, farmers were paid Rs 32,211 crore for both paddy and wheat crops. After a decade of BJP rule at the Center, farmers received Rs 70,385 crore for crops which is more than double since last decade.” The budget for agriculture in 10 years of the Modi government has been hiked from Rs 21,900 crore to Rs 1,25 lakh crore in 2024, Sunil Jakhar said.
The Modi-led BJP government has made 11 crore farmers beneficiary to the Kisan Nidhi scheme across India and a whopping Rs 3 lakh crore have been disbursed to farmers across the country.
In Punjab, there were nearly 23 lakh Kisan Samman Nidhi cards for farmers. Ironically, today under the AAP rule in Punjab there are just about 8.5 lakh cards of farmers and majority of nearly 15 lakh farmers are bereft of the benefits of the scheme, Jakhar alleged. “Farmers have been deprived of the Center’s scheme by the laxity of the state government. Rs 900 crore could not be added to the farmers income under the Center’s scheme because the AAP government which was duty bound to get the KYC done, failed. Why are Kisan unions and farmer organizations not protesting against this in Punjab? What about the claims of the AAP of doorstep service?” Jakhar asked.
Farmers hit by floods last year and suffered crop damage received the amount of Rs 180 crore at Rs 6800 per acre of crop damage by the allocation made by BJP government at the Center, Jakhar informed lamenting that Bhagwant Mann had promised to pay Rs 20,000 without Girdawari to farmers, of which not a penny was paid.
Sunil Jakhar said, states like MP, Rajasthan and others pay bonus on crop produce to farmers. “In Rajasthan and MP, Rs 125 is paid over and above MSP on wheat by the state government. Why is Bhagwant Mann not paying a single penny as bonus,” the BJP chief questioned.
Sunil Jakhar opined that Punjab farmers majorly produce wheat and paddy on which MSP is provided. “Why are farmers seeking MSP on other items that are not produced or insignificantly produced in Punjab. Whose battle are Punjab farmers fighting since MSP on all crops does not concern them,” he asked?
Sunil Jakhar while maintaining that farmers will vote for the BJP said every effort should be made by farmers to ensure that their protest remains peaceful, logical and not on railway tracks and elsewhere putting everyday life out of gear.
The role of the faction driven Farmer unions in Punjab is shrouded in suspicion, he maintained. “Be it the case of farmers being deprived of the bonus on MSP or the issue of benefits of the Kisan Nidhi cards not reaching over 15 lakh farmers due to the fault of the state government, farmer unions are not raising genuine issues concerning farmers,” Sunil Jakhar said. He asked, “What is the conspiracy? Why are these unions not protesting against the Mann government on these issues and for depriving them of the flood compensation amount of Rs 20,000. Why are these unions not talking about the minimum farm wages? ”
The state BJP chief also condemned the recent incident in Barnala where a farmer union clashed with traders over an alleged immigration cheating case. “This vigilantism by farmers is unacceptable. They don’t raise genuine issues of farmers but resort to such violent ways. Why didn’t they protest at Bhanwant Mann’s doorsteps? The onus lies on the Mann government to check any immigration wrongdoing if any,” he said.
