Captain Amarinder Singh rejects 1 week ultimatum of farmers’ unions to hold special assembly session

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has rejected the one-week ultimatum of various farmers’ organisations for holding a special assembly session to negate the farm laws.
Amarinder made it clear that he will do what he feels is necessary in the interest of farmers. He added that while he had already said that he would be calling a special session of the legislative assembly to bring in ‘necessary amendment Bills’, ultimatums were not the way to force the government into taking hasty steps.
The chief minister was reacting to reports that farmers’ organisations, in a meeting held here on Wednesday, had issued an ultimatum to the state government for convening a special session of the legislative assembly to amend laws. He said that farmer unions’ threat to gherao his residence or the houses of state ministers and Congress leaders would not force him into taking any decision which may eventually prove to be detrimental to the farmers’ interests. However, he pointed out that he had taken suggestions of all these farm unions a few days back on the way forward on the farm Acts.
Reacting to farmers’ organisations’ decision not to heed his appeal to allow goods trains to pass amid their ‘Rail Roko’ protests, Amarinder said it was regrettable. He said that by not relaxing their agitation, these organisations were damaging the interests of the farmers as well as the state. The state government needs to urgently transport foodgrain, coal, fertiliser and petroleum on priority, besides lifting the paddy grain from the grain markets for which the RBI had already authorised the first instalment of the around Rs 30,220 crore, he added.
If the current stocks of wheat and rice were not lifted from the godowns, there would be no storage capacity left for the next harvest, said the chief minister. He also noted that Punjab’s coal stocks were critical and if not replenished soon there would be severe power shortages which would hamper the wheat sowing operations. He also pointed out that with fertiliser stocks running low, potato sowing would also be adversely affected. With blockades at petrol stations, oil flow was also getting affected, which would impact the movement of tractors and the produce, he added.