Centre indulging in vendetta politics: AAP
As the four-day deadline set by farm unions for resolving the ongoing procurement crisis ended today, AAP launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led NDA government.
Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh alleged that the Centre had indulged in “vendetta politics” and was harassing Punjabi farmers. He said the Centre’s sluggish procurement process was a deliberate attempt to destabilise Punjab. “The reason for slow procurement across the state is that the Centre wants to undermine Punjab’s agricultural system,” he said.
Dr Balbir claimed that the Centre was trying to dismantle the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy and wheat, which has long supported the farming community.
“All this is being done to abolish the procurement process in Punjab and privatise mandis to benefit corporate allies. Farmers, commission agents (arhtiyas) and rice millers are being harassed as part of this agenda. The Centre wants to ruin the mandi system, which has been crucial for the development of our state,” he said.
“Just because the people of Punjab have rejected the BJP and its policies, it does not mean they should be penalised and harassed,” added Dr Balbir.
The Health Minister also targeted Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, who recently took a jibe at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for not visiting grain markets. He said, “Bittu should set his own house in order before commenting on CM Mann. The crisis has worsened because freight trains failed to clear stock from the godowns in time.”
He added that not just the CM, but all AAP ministers and MLAs were active on the ground to monitor procurement operations.
