The Indian Express | 1 week ago | 18-03-2023 | 11:45 am
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Friday took on the BJP governments in Haryana and other states for resorting to lathicharge on agitating sarpanchs and employees and not offering adequate prices of crops.Hooda expressed his comments sharply when a BJP MLA Abhay Singh Yadav was telling the Haryana assembly– during ongoing budget session — that how the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government was offering a MSP (minimum support price) for as many as 14 crops in the state.But Hooda, while taking on the BJP governments, commented: “Yahan kahin aloo pit gaya, kahin sarso pit gayi, Madhya Pradesh me tmatar pit gya, Maharashtra me pyaj pit gya. Aur yahan Panchkula me sarpanch, karmachari pit gaya. Pitai-pitai kare ja rahe ho. (Here, somewhere, potato or mustard were purchased at throw away prices while tomato faced same fate in Madhya Pradesh and onion in Maharashtra. And village sarpanches and employees were beaten up in Panchkula. You are just restoring to assault.” In his comments, Hooda was referring to low prices of crops and police lathicharge on village sarpanches and government employees during their recent protests in Haryana’s Panchkula town.Hooda also supported the demand of agitating government employees– who are demanding restoration of Old Pension Scheme. Siding by the agitator village sarpanches, Hooda demanded that the system of e-tendering should be withdrawn.On his part, Abhay Yadav, a former bureaucrat, appreciated the Khattar government for its policies. Yadav said: “Its first time when any government started procuring as many as 14 crops at the rate of MSP. Earlier, bajra used to be sold in the open market at the rate of 1,100 per quintal. Now, the same bajra is being sold at the rate of above Rs 2,300 per quintal in the open market.”Yadav also said: “During last procurement season, the farmers even did not bring mustard to government run mandis because its price was higher in open market than of government’s MSP. Even during this season, the government will procure all the mustard at the rate of MSP.”When Hooda alleged that the HAFED bought the bajra (millet) from farmers at low prices, Khattar said that HAFED is not the government but a PSU (public sector undertaking) adding it can commercially procure bajra at its level on market price.Under the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana, according to the CM, farmers have been paid Rs. 450 per quintal to the farmers as the difference between the minimum support price and the market price of bajra procurement.Through DBT, payment has been sent directly to the accounts of the farmers, informed Manohar Lal Khattar.Responding to a document shared by some Opposition members claiming that till now the money has not been transferred into the accounts of a farmer, the Chief Minister informed that an amount of Rs 13,574 has been sent to the account of the said farmer, Anil Yadav.Meanwhile, Hooda has raised the issue of loss to farmers due to non-procurement of mustard. “Farmers are very upset. They have to sell their crops at a rate Rs 1000-1500 below MSP. The situation is that somewhere the agency is not reaching for purchase and somewhere the portal is not opening. The fear of deteriorating weather and possibility of rain is also troubling the farmers who have reached the mandi. The mustard farmers, who have already faced the brunt of the weather, are now facing the burnt of the government’s callousness,” he said.Hooda said he has been continuously demanding for almost a month that the government should start procurement of mustard as soon as possible. “The farmers had started reaching the mandis with their crops, but the government continuously ignored their demand. The farmers are facing the brunt of this.”
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