Day after BJP jibe, Mann says Govt hates Punjabi farmers as they protested farm laws

The CM said that it was ironic that the Punjab farmers who had played a major role in making the country self-reliant in food production are being blamed for paddy straw burning whereas the BJP had turned a blind eye towards poor AQI in other states. He questioned “the silence of BJP over far more worst AQI” in Faridabad, Manesar, Gurgaon, Sonipat, Gwalior, Indore and cities in other states where the saffron party is in power.

“Eh taan edan lagda jidaan sirf Punjab te Dillli pardushan kar rahe ne. Aale duale baaki saare Switzerland hi vasde (It was being projected as if only Punjab and Delhi were causing pollution and rest all were like Switzerland),” said Mann, terming the stubble burning as “the problem of north India”.

Mann said, “the basic reason is that the BJP hates the farmers of the state who had spearheaded a campaign against black farm laws”. He said that “in vengeance to this, the BJP is hell bent on defaming the state and its farmers”. He added that “surprisingly the BJP and Union government are continuously blaming the Punjabi farmer for environmental pollution by ignoring their immense contribution in the national food pool”.

Mann said, “We had submitted a solution for the paddy straw burning by offering to jointly pay financial assistance to farmers worth Rs 2500 (Rs 1500 by Centre and Rs 500 each by Punjab and Delhi governments) in lieu of not burning paddy straw. However, instead of accepting this proposal the Centre had blatantly refused to bail out the farmers.”

“Likewise”, Bhagwant Mann said, “in order to provide a viable solution for management of paddy straw a large number of investors wanted to come to the state and set up bio-energy and power plants. However, the centre has been refusing to give permission for setting these plants.”

Citing that clusters of villages as big as 120 to 125 had passed resolutions not to burn the straw, CM said that “the Punjabi farmer is fully sensitized towards not burning paddy straw as he knows that it will adversely hit his family.” He added that in the absence of financial assistance to manage paddy straw, the farmers were left with no choice than setting the stubble on fire.

Meanwhile, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Wednesday, termed “unfortunate” the statement made by Mann. He said, “Instead of finding a solution to stubble burning, Mann is doing politics of blame game and counter-accusation. Mann is instigating the farmers and levelling false allegations against the Centre. Instead of doing this, he should chalk out a detailed strategy to tackle stubble management.”