Demands Rs 50-70 cr annual research grant for PAU; Seeks debt relief for farmers on pattern of industry loan waiver
Reveals, Punjab didn’t get a penny of Rs 1600 cr flood relief; Demands withdrawal of the law on stubble burning
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh/New Delhi-
Punjab Congress president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today demanded that the government of India should bring the law to provide MSP guarantee to the farmers as had been promised to them when they withdrew their 15 month long strike against three farm laws.
He also demanded Rs 50 crore to Rs 70 crores annual research grant for the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to improve the research facilities for better agriculture.
The Ludhiana MP made a strong case for providing debt relief to the small and marginal farmers through one time settlement by waiving off their interests. He asked, if the government can waive off loans worth Rs 16 lakh crores of big industrialists, why it cannot provide debt relief to small and marginal farmers.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha today, Warring also urged the government of India to immediately provide Rs 1600 crores that had been promised as flood relief to the state. He said Punjab was being sandwiched in the fight between the BJP ruled centre and the AAP led state government. He revealed that not a single penny of this amount had been provided to Punjab so far.
He said, when the centre knew that the AAP government in Punjab had already misused the Rs 12000 crore disaster relief fund, why did it withhold the flood relief. Why victimize people of Punjab for that, he asked.
Referring to three central agricultural laws, he said, Prime Minister Modi had already announced the suspension of those laws and demanded that these should be completely withdrawn and not merely suspended.
He pointed out farmers braved all odds for 15 months for withdrawal of those laws and about 750 of them lost their lives during this period. He demanded compensation for the deceased farmers.
He also demanded the withdrawal of all the FIRs registered against the farmers during that agitation.
Warring demanded a special Rs 50,000 corpus fund for diversification of agriculture in Punjab. He said, Punjab should be divided into five different agriculture zones for cultivation of specific crops in those zones.
He pointed out, Punjab’s farmers had made unparalleled contributions towards food security and the state had paid a heavy price. He said, Punjab deserves a special package for its contribution towards food security of the country.
He also referred to the Kisan Samridhi Yojana under which the farmers are provided Rs 6000 relief a year. Maintaining that it was like peanuts, he said, this amount is not even enough to get fodder for one animal.
Referring to the problem of stubble burning, the Ludhiana MP said that the Punjab farmers were being maligned and blamed for pollution when the stubble burning was there for ages. He demanded the withdrawal of the law against stubble burning, cancellation of FIRs based on satellite imagery and Rs 5000 per acre incentive for farmers to encourage them against stubble burning.