The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday rebuked the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government for their failure to provide compensation to the farmers after their crops were damaged by the untimely hailstorm.
“Before the Assembly Elections in the state in 2022, Punjab CM used to propagate that the farmers would get compensation for their damaged crop even before the survey (girdawari) is conducted. Meanwhile, it has been around a week since the wheat crops in many areas of the state have been damaged due to hailstorms, however, the farmers haven’t been paid”, Bajwa added. Senior Congress Leader Bajwa said that farmers continued to protest against the Punjab Agriculture Minister and AAP’s Lok Sabha Candidate from Bathinda, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian. Farmers have also given the government a week to provide them with compensation. Farmers have threatened to launch a struggle against AAP to get compensation.
“When the state was suffering the worst ever floods last year, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann played with the emotions of farmers by giving them false hope. He said that farmers would get compensation for even the loss of their hens and goats but have been left high and dry”, Bajwa added.
The opposition leader said that the farmers had not yet emerged from the trauma of floods and they suffered a loss due to an untimely hailstorm. However, the Punjab CM was constantly making cruel jokes with farmers. “In its two-year regime, the AAP has let down the farmers on several occasions. The time has arrived and the AAP will have to pay the price of its misdeeds”, Bajwa added.