Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday sought a “complete debt waiver” for farmers and farm labourers, while offering to shoulder the State’s burden with the Central Government.
The Chief Minister, in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a day after the three farm laws were repealed in the Parliament, said: “With the annulment of the three farm laws by you, the farmers and the Government have moved a step closer to resolving pending issues that have taken centre stage. The foremost of course being the issue of agricultural debt.”
Channi said that during a meeting with farmer leaders in Chandigarh recently, the demand that remains pending at his level is that of the issue of farm debt. “A glittering ray of hope has, however, shone after the Government of India’s changed stance (on the farm laws),” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister emphasized the need to frame a Centre-State shared scheme of an appropriate ratio spread over some time with proper modalities to handle this issue and end the debt of farmers and farm labourers once and for all. “Despite the stressed revenues of the State Government, no sacrifice would be big enough than the weight of this moral obligation that we owe to farmer fraternity,” he said.
Notably, Prime Minister Modi had announced to repeal the farm laws on November 19, coinciding with the Gurpurb to mark the 552nd birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, after a year-long battle fought by the farmers against the Centre.
As both the House of the Parliament passed the bill to repeal the controversial laws ion the very first day of the winter session, the farmers, under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), are continuing with their protests at the Delhi borders, seeking acceptance of six more demands, including guarantee on minimum support price (MSP). However, their demands don’t include the debt waiver.
Channi, in his letter, urged the Prime Minister, “Today is the day and today is the opportunity and today let’s make a fresh start and work towards improving the entire ecosystem of agriculture in Punjab in particular and the nation in general...We as stakeholders are ready to commit ourselves to any new arrangement that is decided mutually between all the stakeholders.”
“I know some people will question us with economic sheets in their hands but sir do remember that tomorrow when neither me nor you are here then we will be judged. There will be a reckoning. It will either come from ourselves and our own conscience or it will come from our generations when they will ask that inconvenient question of what were we doing or what we did for those who fed us and for those who carried out the biggest democratic struggle of independent India. Let history judge us by our deeds and that, when the moment of reckoning arrived, we did not shudder with fear but boldly turned the tide”, the letter read.
Channi pointed out that the farmers of Punjab are the one who picked up the gauntlet of food security of the nation and became the bulwark of green revolution. “The godowns filled to their edges today testify their relentless toil. The long journey from scarcity driven days of PL 480 (ship to mouth) to the ration having given the Right of Food to its citizens is a proof of the hard work of the farmers and farm labour of this great nation. However, while ensuring food security, their self-pride driven farmers have crippled themselves under the weight of mountain of debt,” he said.
Striking an emotional chord, Channi said: “When they toiled on the soil, their sons defended the sensitive borders with their lives. Today’s India is indebted to these sons of soil. I am of the firm opinion that this great nation, which they have served for decades, now owes a moral obligation to shake its inertia and write off complete agricultural debt, including that of farm labour, till date.”
“No banking or non-banking institution should knock the doors of our farmers or farm labour for recovery of agricultural loans which forms the root cause of suicides by the farmers and farm labour and stress in rural economy,” he said.As per information available, the total loan — institutional and non-institutional — on the agrarian class in Punjab has crossed Rs one lakh crore.
Notably, the Congress-led Punjab Government, under Capt Amarinder Singh, had waived Rs 4,610.24 crore debt on 5,63,718 farmers.
CM ADMITTED THAT CONG GOVT CANNOT IMPLEMENT COMPLETE RS 90K CORE FARM LOAN WAIVER, SAYS SAD
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said that Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had admitted that the Congress Government did not have any intention of implementing a complete Rs 90,000 crore farm loan waiver promised to farmers of Punjab by swearing an oath on the holy Gutka Sahab. At the same time, he accused the Chief Minister of resorting to trickery and treachery to squirm his way out of the commitment by putting the onus of the same on the Central Government. Sukhbir, reacting to Chief Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister on the issue, said that it was clear that the Congress wanted to do a double whammy on farmers of Punjab. “Farmers were tricked into believing the Congress Government would waive off their loans on the eve of the 2017 assembly elections by the then Pradesh Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh. Now, after deceiving and betraying the trust of farmers, Channi is again trying to trick farmers into believing that their loans will be waived off in conjunction with the Central Government,” he said.
MSP ON ALL CROPS SHOULD BE FARMERS’ LEGAL RIGHT, SAYS PUNJAB MINISTER
Echoing the demand of farmers for Minimum Support Price (MSP) on every crop, Punjab Revenue Minister Aruna Chaudhary on Tuesday demanded that MSP should be the legal right, besides demanding a threadbare debate on the issue in both the Houses of the Parliament. Reiterating the State Government’s commitment to accord every benefit to the farmers, Chaudhary said that the BJP-led NDA Government is fearing debate on the issue as the Union Government has been reluctant to accord any right to the peasantry. She exhorted that MSP should be the legal right for farmers on every crop as this is the need of the hour.
