BJP leaders meet Punjab Guv, seeks timely lifting of paddy

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu):  Amidst the ongoing protest of farmers over “tardy pace” of paddy procurement, a delegation of BJP leaders on Sunday met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria here and sought his intervention to ensure the timely lifting of paddy from across grain markets. In a related development, Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi asked the farmers of the state that they will procure every single paddy grain and make timely payments to them. He asked the farmers not to fall for misinformation being spread about the lack of space to store stocks.

National executive members comprising Avinash Rai Khanna, Harjit Singh Grewal, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, Amanjot Kaur Ramowalia and legislator Jangi Lal Mahajan, among others, met the Governor and apprised him of the law and order crisis in the state that has arisen due to the inability of the AAP government to lift paddy from procurement centres. They said before the commencement of the season in the last week of September the state government got Rs 44,000 crore for the purchase of paddy on the minimum support price (MSP) from the Central government.

Due to the inefficiency of the state government, even after 26 days of official commencement of the paddy procurement, the state government has failed to lift most of the paddy from the “mandis”. They added the state was riddled with procurement problems that included a paucity of gunny bags, tarpaulin, delayed notification of custom milling policy, delayed notification of milling policy, delay in awarding of labour contracts or transportation contracts, etc. They also blamed the state for its failure to enter into an agreement with 5,500 millers for milling the paddy.

“Now the ongoing paddy procurement crisis in Punjab has spiralled into a serious law and order issue,” they said in a statement to the media. Farmers, who have been protesting, have now blocked national and state highways and even link roads, causing inconvenience to the people during the festive season. The BJP leaders requested the Governor to ensure the complete lifting of paddy ahead of Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas.

Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu has held the state government responsible for creating a surplus in grain markets during paddy procurement. Bittu said recently Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan at a meeting with Centre officials committed that more than 3 lakh metric tons of space was lying vacant with the state for storing paddy. “If there is no dearth of space, then why are Punjab's mandis flooded with paddy?” he questioned. Terming the state government immature, Bittu said the government has wrongly approved hybrid varieties of PR126 paddy, which has become a bane for this procurement season.

“The original PR126 variety developed by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) IN Ludhiana is a saviour for the farmers. It costs just Rs 56 per kg and thrice can be used for preparing nursery for paddy transplantation,” he said. Promising to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve the issue, two-time Punjab Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Amarinder Singh on October 25 visited Asia's largest grain market in Khanna to assess the ground situation and met with farmers, “arthiyas” (commission agents) and labourers. Expressing concern over the plight of farmers, he lambasted the AAP government for its failure to procure the PR126 paddy variety, leaving farmers in distress. He said the Centre had already sent Rs 44,000 crore to the state government for procurement. “I will also urge the Central government to ensure that ‘arthiyas’ get compensation for the PR126 crop. How can they pay for the gap from their own pockets?”

Meanwhile, the farmers' protest continued on the third day on Sunday with Chief Minister Mann saying that “excess of everything was bad” and blocking roads almost every day without “any reason was not justified”. The activists of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a prominent farmer outfit, have been blocking roads to protest against the state government's tardy paddy procurement and shortage of fertilizers. The protest has led to major traffic disruptions and inconvenience to commuters. Commuters will face inconvenience in the days to come as Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, led by Sarwan Singh Pandher, announced road blockades from October 26 for an indefinite period at many places.

The protesters criticised the state government’s decision to reduce DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser stocks by 30 per cent. They demanded a steady supply of DAP. Emergency and essential services like ambulances and school buses were exempted from the blockade, said protesters. Pandher said sit-in protests would continue at one place each in Sangrur and Moga districts and at Phagwara in Kapurthala district and Batala in Gurdaspur district until their demands were accepted. Chief Minister Mann on Saturday impressed upon Union Chemical and Fertiliser Minister J.P. Nadda in New Delhi to ensure a complete supply of DAP fertiliser allotted to the state by November 15.