Punjab flood politics heat up: BJP’s Sunil Jakhar says farmers could’ve benefited from PM Fasal Bima Yojana had AAP Govt ‘not prioritised self-promotion’

Sunil Jakhar’s comments come after AAP state chief Aman Arora accuses the Centre of stepmotherly treatment towards Punjab, ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to flood-affected areas in the state.

By: Express News Service

Ludhiana | September 8, 2025 04:25 PM IST

Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar accused Bhagwant Mann of sacrificing Punjab's interests to please his party’s Delhi leaders. (File)

Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar accused the AAP Government on Monday of neglecting farmer welfare by not implementing the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), hours after AAP state president Aman Arora alleged stepmotherly treatment by the Centre towards Punjab. Arora also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is expected to visit the flood-affected areas of Majha on Tuesday, to announce a robust flood relief package.

Jakhar said that if Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Government had implemented the PMFBY by paying the state’s share of the premium “instead of spending taxpayer money on publicity and self-promotion”, the compensation for the losses suffered by flood-affected farmers could have been easily provided through the central scheme.

In a statement, Jakhar said the crop insurance scheme, which covers losses due to natural calamities, pests, or diseases, was launched in 2016. Later, the Government of India made necessary changes to the scheme by accepting suggestions from state governments. The BJP leader said that while almost all states implemented the scheme, Punjab did not, perhaps fearing that the credit might go to the BJP-led Central Government. He added that thousands of Punjab’s farmers are deprived of the scheme’s benefits today.

Jakhar said that in November 2022, the Punjab Government announced that it would implement the scheme but backed out in March 2023 because of “its narrow political interests”.

“In our neighbouring state of Haryana, a farmer pays about Rs 850 as his share of premium per acre for paddy crop and would get insurance coverage of up to approximately Rs 42,000 per acre. Around Rs 500 has been paid out as claims under PMFBY for every Rs 100 of premium paid by the insured farmers. Till date over 22 crore farmers have received over Rs 1,80,000 crore under this scheme,” the BJP leader said.

Jakhar said the AAP Government had also claimed that it would introduce an insurance policy but failed to implement even the central scheme.
The BJP leader further alleged that Mann had sacrificed Punjab’s interests to please his party’s Delhi leaders. He said that under the PMFBY, a farmer pays only 2 per cent of the premium, while the rest is shared equally by the state and the central Governments, adding that more than 4 crore farmers across the country are beneficiaries of the scheme.

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