Kumari Selja, the National General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee and former Union Minister, slammed the BJP-JJP coalition government in Haryana for its alleged neglect of farmers’ concerns. Selja highlighted the farmers’ distress over the lack of compensation for crops damaged by July floods, along with the failure to receive insurance claims despite the deduction of premiums.
In a media statement, Selja expressed concern for the 1.41 lakh flood-affected farmers who, after suffering crop losses, sought compensation from the government. However, she noted that the Jagi government’s decision to allocate only Rs 97.9 crore to 4,511 farmers after a five-month delay was inadequate and akin to a meager offering. Selja accused the state government of exacerbating the farmers’ wounds instead of providing meaningful compensation, emphasizing the anti-farmer stance of the BJP-JJP coalition.Selja pointed out the government’s failure to deliver compensation to farmers, despite sending messages to their mobile phones. She highlighted the irony of farmers repeatedly visiting banks with their passbooks in the hope of receiving money. Selja criticized the government’s indifference, especially in villages where floodwaters reached 5-6 feet, illustrating a lack of concern for farmers’ well-being.
The former Union Minister expressed surprise at the situation in Cluster-2 districts, including Ambala, Hisar, Gurugram, Jind, Karnal, Mahendragarh, and Sonipat. In these districts, the government deducted money from farmers’ accounts but failed to secure Prime Minister Crop Insurance from any insurance company due to the extensive crop destruction.
Selja argued that the government should have provided wholehearted support to farmers in districts where insurance companies withdrew, but the BJP-JJP coalition’s alleged hostility towards farmers prevented such assistance. In Sirsa and Hisar, farmers owe around Rs 4,000 crores to insurance companies for previous crops, leading to concrete protests in these areas.
