AAP condemns Niti Aayog's refusal to bail out Pb farmers

Condemning Central Government’s think-tank Niti Aayog’s flat refusal to bail out Punjab farmers, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday said that it was not only breach of faith but amounts to ditching them in their hour of crisis.

The party, in fact, urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene to write off the Rs 1lakh crore debt of Punjab farmers, so that they can be saved from the clutches of suicide.

“The flat refusal of Niti Aayog to bail out farmers of Punjab has sent extremely wrong signals to the already debt ridden farmers, which will further escalate suicides in Punjab,” said the leader of opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Sukhpal Khaira.

Khaira, AAP MLA from Bholath, said that it was due to the tireless efforts of Punjab farmers that India is self-sufficient in food grains today. “Although more states have begun to contribute to foodgrain now, but it was Punjab that actually filled the food bowl of the country in its need of hour,” he said.

He added that it was a matter of record that Punjab contributed 60 percent and 80 percent of rice and wheat respectively towards the granary of India, until a few years.

“It is a fact that despite such massive humanitarian contribution, the farmers have always been discriminated against in the pricing of their crops by successive central governments. It is because of this discriminatory policy of Central Governments that the farmers of Punjab particularly have landed under a colossal debt of Rs one lakh crore,” he said.

Khaira said that the Modi government has written off lakhs of crores of bad debts of big corporate business houses, in order to bail out nationalized banks because of outstanding NPAs. “As per recent RBI report, 25 percent of country’s total NPA (Rs eight lakh crore) which is Rs two lakh crore, is owed to the banks by only 12 honcho corporate families of India, which will ultimately be written off to save banks.

He said that it was a pity that the Niti Aayog or the Modi government is turning a blind eye to the lakhs of farmer families of Punjab, who owe half or Rs one lakh crore compared to the 12 giant business houses.

Khaira cautioned the farmers that the Niti Aayog members statement on food security has revealed its hidden agenda, that the Modi government intends to disband the current MSP system for the crops of wheat and paddy.

“It is a matter of shame that the Niti Aayog members, instead of giving remunerative prices for the crops of suffering farmers, suggested cutting of their input costs. This statement is like rubbings salt on the wounds of farmers,” he said.

Khaira said that there is an old saying “a friend in need is a friend indeed”, but the insensitive attitude of the Modi government denying farmers a package, is not only breach of faith but is leaving them in the lurch in their hour of crisis.

He urged the PM Modi to personally intervene to write off the Rs one lakh crore debt of Punjab farmers, so that they can be saved from the clutches of suicide.