Badal should stop shedding tears for farmers: Bajwa

Punjab Congress President Partap Singh Bajwa today accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of "shedding crocodile tears" over farmers' problem and not taking up the issue forcefully of increasing minimum support prices with the Centre.
Bajwa attacked Badal saying he had been "parroting" that the minimum support prices should be fixed by the Centre on the basis of the Swaminathan Committee recommendations, which provide for at least 50 per cent profit to the growers over and above the cost of production.
"He had been parroting this point ever since this report was submitted during the UPA government and he had sold the dream of getting the same implemented under the NDA government," the Congress leader said.

Bajwa questioned what excuse he had for not taking up this issue forcefully with his "own government" at the Centre in which his own daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal is Cabinet minister.
Bajwa, in a statement here, alleged with the induction of Harsimrat, the interests of the Badal family were served but the people continued to suffer as even after the change in the government, nothing perceptible had been done for this state.
"Not only that. Badal had now stopped even visiting the union ministers. During the UPA government, his visits used to be too frequent, even to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he never returned empty handed," he said.

Bajwa suggested in case the Chief Minister was "sincere" to any of the issues concerning the people and the state, he should first convene an all-party meeting to evolve consensus on the issues to be taken up and then lead a deputation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"If Badal leads a dharna in front of Modi's residence on this issue which is very crucial for Punjab farmers and economy of Punjab, we will join him," he said.