A war of words ensued between arch rivals ruling Congress and the shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday on the farm bills which has politically stirred a hornet’s nest in Punjab.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh asked Akalis to stop “lying and misleading” the people of the state by “picking selective portions” of the Congress manifestos, saying it did not even remotely propose any of the anti-farmer moves that the BJP-led Central Government was trying to push on poor farmers to promote the interests of “their rich corporate friends”.

Instead of flashing the copies of manifestos at journalists, the SAD and AAP should have made efforts to read their relevant parts first, said the chief minister, taking on the Opposition parties over their alleged “unsubstantiated and blatantly false allegations” against the Congress on the issue.

Referring to the Congress manifestos for the Lok Sabha as well as the last Punjab assembly elections, the chief minister said nowhere had the party spoken about bringing any of the changes that the Centre was trying to impose on the nation with its ill-intentioned legislations. In fact, the manifestos had clearly talked about strengthening the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) system to make it even more beneficial to the farmers, he said in a statement here.

The state Congress manifesto of 2017 had stated that the updation of the APMC Act would be done to ensure direct access of farmers to the national and international markets through digital technology without tinkering with the existing MSP system, he said. The LS manifesto, on the other hand, had gone a step forward to talk of further strengthening the marketing system by repealing the existing Act and bringing in new provisions that would provide for the establishment of thousands of Kisan markets to provide easy access to farmers within 2-3 km range, he said.

“Only liars could interpret this to mean that the Congress had meant to abolish the APMC Act,” said the chief minister. “When and where did the Congress ever talk of replacing APMC with contract farming and private procurement?” the chief minister asked, lashing out at the Akalis and AAP for “blatantly misleading” the people on the issue. The Punjab Congress manifesto had categorically promised that the “State Government will ensure lifting of food grains within 48 hours and payment by procurement agencies within 3 days for the procured food grains,” making it amply clear that there was not even a remote possibility of changing the procurement system, as the Centre’’s new laws are seeking to do, he said. “Picking up sentences and misrepresenting the communication is an art that the BJP has mastered, and the Akalis are now emulating,” said Capt Amarinder.

HAPPY TO SEE PARTY’S FLAG FLYING FOR FARMERS, SAYS 5-TIME CM BADAL

Akali patriarch and five-time Chief Minister of Punjab,  Parkash Singh Badal expressed “immense satisfaction and pride  over the strong and principled stand taken by the Shiromani Akali Dal to save the beleaguered peasantry in Punjab and the rest of the country.”

“I am pleased and proud that when the hour of reckoning arrived, my party, as always, has held  aloft the flag of justice for farmers and other exploited sections of society. This flag symbolizes  the identity of the Akali culture and movements and it is a great feeling to watch it flying high,” said Badal in a statement.   He said farmers’ issues relate to the overall national interests. “Agriculture is the backbone of our economy. If farmers and agricultural economy  suffers, the whole economy, including trade and industry will suffer too.”

Badal described the party’s decision to pull out of the Union Government to fight alongside the farmers as “a proud and landmark moment in the party’s long history of  standing up  for principles and of always being on the side of the people whenever a line is drawn.”   He said the legislation on the marketing of the farmers’ produce needed wider consultations, especially with the stakeholders, the farmers, as well as with the parties like Shiromani Akali  Dal that have always been the voice of the farmers.  He appealed to all Punjabis and all political parties to stand with the farmers, during this struggle for justice.

SAD APPEALS TO ALL POLITICAL PARTIES TO JOIN HANDS ON 3 AGRI BILLS

SAD on Saturday appealed to all political parties to join the ‘sangharsh’ against the three agricultural bills even as it castigated the Congress and the AAP for backstabbing farmers by not opposing the passage of the bills in the Lok Sabha.

Addressing a virtual press conference here, senior leader and former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra appealed to all political parties to form “ek soch aur ek manch” on the issue, saying Punjab could not afford any division on this issue. “All farmer organizations and political parties should support the SAD in its ‘sangharsh’ against the Bills”, Prof Chandumajra said adding divisions in the past had led to the loss of the State’s river waters and its capital”. Chandumajra said SAD would come out with a party programme against the Agricultural Bills. “We will not sit quiet. We have always raised the voice of the farmers and ‘khet mazdoor’ and will continue to do so as per the rich and glorious traditions of the party”.