Starting his election campaign, Congress' Punjab chief Amarinder Singh today embarked on a 500 km 'Kisan Bus Yatra' to highlight the BJP-SAD government's "failure in controlling farmer suicides".
In the coming days several senior Congress leaders will join Mr Singh as he travels through the districts of Faridkot, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Muktsar and Ferozepur.
The former Punjab chief minister will hold 'Kisan Sabhas' and 'mandi meetings' where he promised to expose the Badal administration in the state.
Punjab has been facing severe agrarian distress, due to both poor planning and natural factors. Mr Singh promised the widows of farmers who killed themselves that he would "punish" those responsible for ignoring farmer's plight. He also promised to waive off all farmer debts in the state to help them deal with low yields.
Among the widows who met Mr Singh before the launch of his road show was Rajomajra's Harbans Kaur - whose husband Sohan Singh committed suicide over a debt of Rs. 4 lakh. The Congress claimed, instead of helping the distressed farmer, the government allowed the installation of an electrical tower in the middle of his farmland, rendering the land useless for cultivation.
"The Badal's are busy filling their coffers with the hard-earned money of the people, and they have no time to even think of their problems," Mr Singh said before the start of his journey.
For the purpose of the roadshow, the Congress has designed a customised bus, with all facilities including a hydraulic platform, from where Mr Singh will address farmers' meetings.
