Expressing solidarity with Punjabi farmers facing eviction from the Kutch region of Gujarat, opposition Congress today staged a walkout in the Punjab Assembly, condemning the alleged "inaction" by the Parkash Singh Badal government.
Leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Sunil Kumar Jakhar raised the issue soon after the Zero Hour ended and urged Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal to bring a resolution on the condition of Punjabi farmers in Kutch.
The Speaker, however, refused to rake up the matter, saying "we can't compel other states to do this or that."
Reiterating his position, the CLP leader said "injustice" was being done to Punjabi farmers, but the Chief Minister was not present in the House to take up the matter.
Earlier, first-time Congress MLA from Gidderbaha Raja Warring Amarinder Singh alleged that farmers in the state were facing a lot of harassment due to non-procurement of paddy from 'mandis' by the government agencies.
He also alleged that paddy was being procured by the state agencies at a price lesser than the MSP.
Rejecting the allegations, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon said, "The Centre provides funds to the state for procurement of paddy with certain specifications which the states can't violate."
"In fact, the Centre is not lifting its share from Punjab 'mandis' while the state agencies are already in the process. Till date the central agencies have procured only two lakh metric tonnes of paddy, which is a mockery," he said.
Dismissing the minister's response and slamming Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for being absent from the House while discussion on such an "important subject" is going on, Congress members staged a walkout.
As the Congress MLAs walked out of the House, the Assembly passed a resolution moved by SAD MLA Daljit Singh Cheema criticising the move by the authorities of Quebec province of Canada to ban religious symbols in work places and urged the Centre to take up the matter with Canada.
Cheema said the Quebec authorities is proposing to bring in a bill to ban religious symbols making it mandatory for religious employees, health workers, schoolteachers, public day care workers to leave their religious symbols at home before leaving for work. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal assured the House that the state government would seriously take up the matter with the Centre.
