Pb CM slams Sukhbir over demand for doubling Rs 6,000 relief to farmers

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Monday slammed SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, accusing him of rubbing salt into the wounds of farmers with his demand to double the assured income of Rs 6,000 by the Centre.

In a statement issued here, Amarinder Singh asked the former deputy chief minister why he had not spoken up for the farmers all these years despite his party being a part of the ruling alliance at the Centre.

"The central government had already made a mockery of the farmers by announcing a meagre Rs 6,000 a year, which amounted to Rs 17 a day, to support them in their distress," he said, adding that the SAD president had added to the "insult with his shameless demand".

"Did he really believe a thousand rupees a month would help the beleaguered farmers, many of whom were being driven to suicide as a result of their massive debts, running into lakhs of rupees in several cases," asked Amarinder Singh.

On Sunday, Sukhbir Badal had said that a delegation of Akali Dal MPs would meet leaders of the central government to double the income of Rs 6,000 per year which was announced in the interim budget.

"Unlike the previous SAD-BJP government, which had "failed" to give even a penny to the distressed farmers during 10 years of their rule, the Congress government had already waived over Rs 4,514 crore of loans of 5.63 lakh small and marginal farmers in the state," the chief minister said.

He said his government, in less than two years, had managed to provide some relief to every section of society despite massive financial crunch they had been left to cope with.

Amarinder Singh said he would continue his efforts to find a permanent solution to the farmers' woes.

"The Badal clan had not given an iota of thought to the welfare of the farmers all these years and were now shedding crocodile tears in a desperate bid to garner votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," he alleged.

But the farmers would not be taken in by their "fake" concern, he said, adding that the ruling coalition at the Centre had lost all confidence of the people, who were set to throw them out "unceremoniously".

Amarinder Singh asked Sukhbir Badal to stop "misleading" the people of Punjab, particularly the farming community, by pretending to be concerned about their problems.

He said if the Centre was really interested in helping the farmers, it should announce a one-time waiver of their loans and ensure remunerative prices for their produce by implementing the Swaminanthan Committee report in toto.