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Chandigarh, October 28
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the Union Government should not “victimise” farmers for agitating against the agricultural laws by refusing to pay the Rural Development Fund (RDF) of Rs 1,100 crore on government paddy purchase. He said such mechanisations only confirmed the fears that the process to finish the ‘mandi’ system had begun.
Help farmers
The Centre must remember that farmers who are agitating against its policies are the ones who fed the nation for 50 years. It should not use coercive measures against them.
In a statement here, the SAD president condemned the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution for not making any provision for the RDF in the cash credit limit extended for the current paddy procurement season. He said this would adversely affect the foodgrain procurement system in Punjab. The money received by the state from the RDF, which was around Rs 1,850 crore per annum, was used to maintain 1,800 mandis and 70,000 km of rural link roads.
Meanwhile, former minister Bikram Singh Majithia advised the state government to follow
the Kerala pattern and declare minimum support price (MSP) on fresh farm fruit and vegetables. — TNS
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