Harsimrat Kaur Badal rakes up farm issues at PM Modi’s event, faces sloganeering

Bathinda, February 25

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi today virtually inaugurated AIIMS-Bathinda, SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal raised the issue of farmers’ holding ‘Dilli Chalo’ stir and urged the Governor and Union ministers present there to resolve the matter.

Talks under way

What the Modi government has done for the agriculture sector is unmatched. Though some problems persist, talks with farmers are still under way to find out a solution. Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister

Harsimrat said, “As the Governor, ministers and BJP state chief are here, I appeal to you to resolve the issues concerning farmers at the earliest. What is happening on Punjab-Haryana borders with our people is heart-wrenching.” Two years ago, 600 farmers from the state died while demanding their rights, she said, adding that the farming community was once again forced to hit the roads.

As Harsimrat raised the farmers’ issues, the BJP’s workers raised slogans against her.

After the event, Harsimrat said, “I talked about the farm stir as the BJP’s state head and Union ministers were present on the spot.”

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who joined the event virtually, said, “What the Modi government has done for the agriculture sector is unmatched. Though some problems exist, talks are still under way to find a solution.” Puri said the MSP had been hiked several times and financial assistance was being provided to farmers. The seasoned politicians should resist the temptation of injecting their own political frustration into occasions like this, added Puri.

With an initial project cost of Rs 925 crore, 750-bed AIIMS-Bathinda has been operational from the last four years.