Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday slammed SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal for “rubbing salt on the wounds of the farmers” with his demand to double the “ludicrous relief” given to them by the Centre.
Lashing out at the former deputy chief minister over his statement, Amarinder asked Sukhbir why he had not spoken up for the farmers all these years despite his SAD being part of the ruling alliance at the Centre.
The Centre had already made a mockery of the farmers by announcing a meagre Rs 6,000 a year, which amounted to Rs 17 a day, to support them in their distress, the CM said, adding that the SAD president had added insult to the injury with his “shameless demand”.
“Did he really believe a thousand rupees a month would help the beleaguered farmers, many of whom were being driven to suicide as a result of their massive debts?” Amarinder asked.
Unlike the previous SAD-BJP government, which had failed to give even a penny to the distressed farmers during 10 years of their rule, his government had already waived over Rs 4,514 crore of loans of 5.63 lakh small and marginal farmers in the state, the CM said.
He said his government in less than two years had provided some relief to every section of society despite the massive financial crunch they had been left.
He said if the Centre was interested in helping the farmers, it should announce a one-time waiver of their loans and ensure remunerative prices for their produce by implementing the Swaminanthan Committee report.