Bhupendra Narayan Singh: Senior Congress leader and Chief Spokesperson of Indian National Congress, Randeep Singh Surjewala today accused BJP-JJP government of betraying the state farmers with its dilly dallying approach of imposing new daily diktats of policy change in wheat procurement. Addressing the media persons via video conferencing, Surjewala said that the state government has amended its procurement policies for the record six times in a short span of nine days. Khattar-Chautala government has made six U turns in a period of 9 days, which reflects the anti-farmer mindset as also a designed conspiracy to not to procure the wheat crop at the minimum support price of Rs. 1,925 per quintal. Day to day changing policies and new daily diktats have brought the wheat procurement system to the brink of ruin. It is a matter of fact that only 23.75 percent wheat has so far been procured in comparison to the previous year as till April 27, 2020, only 21.60 lakh metric tonnes of wheat has been procured in Haryana, whereas 91 lakh metric tonnes of wheat was procured during the same period in year 2019, he added.
The mindless and arrogant policies of Khattar-Chautala Government has made the farmers to suffer the plight and mess that they never suffered in 52 years since the formation of Haryana, said Surjewala. He said that the farmers were facing problems as their hard earned produce was lying in the grain markets and their fields but the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister sounded completely careless. Khattar Governments malicious intention and a systematic conspiracy in defeating the system of procurement is writ large for Modi Government and Khattar Government together do not have the wherewithal and have cut the subsidy for procurement of the wheat crop, he further added.
Referring to various orders regarding the wheat procurement, Surjewala expressed surprise that an order has been issued under which “crop procurement will not take place for a day on April 29 at the procurement centres in the state”. Two days ago, on April 27, the Chief Administrator, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board directed all the Secretaries ‘to ensure that the payment should be given directly into the farmer’s bank account by the procurement agencies’. The government earlier came up with conflicting orders on April 13, April 16, April 21, April 24 also. On 26 March 2020, the Khattar government announced a bonus of Rs 50 to Rs 125 per quintal on wheat purchases to the farmer, but has been painting stoic silence on the issue since then, he further added.
The arrogance, dogma and conspiracy of the Khattar government stands exposed due to these Tughlaqi orders every other day, Surjewala said. Why in nine days, you have to change your stance on six different occasions? The only reason is there is mal-intent on part of Khattar Government in procuring the wheat crop. They want to leave the farmer at the mercy of market forces to ensure that MSP does not have to be given and the wheat crop is left for distress sell by the farmer at the mercy of certain middle man and that’s why the established system of procurement through a combination of, time tested combination of farmer, commission agents which is Adhati and the labourer is being systematically broken by this Government, he added.
