Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh urges PM Narendra Modi to resume dialogue with agitating farmers

CHANDIGARH: Citing heightened cross-border threat and increased drone and other terrorist activities by ISI-backed groups, including plans by Khalistani outfits to target certain farm leaders, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately resume dialogue with agitating farmers and make concerted efforts to resolve their issues. Amarinder has proposed to lead an all-party delegation from Punjab for discussion with the Prime Minister to find a durable and amicable solution to the farmers’s protests, “which are threatening the social fabric of the state and impacting the economic activities as well”. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Amarinder warned that powers across the border “may try to play upon the charged emotions of our proud, sincere, and hard-working farmers” of Punjab, which has a long and live international border. “The situation is presently under control but I fear that provocative statements and conduct of some political parties and the emotional backlash might create law and order problems and also lead to irreversible damage to the hard-earned peace in the state,” the chief minister said while underscoring the need for the Centre to address the genuine concerns of farmers. Amarinder’s letter comes amid rising resentment in Punjab on account of the farm laws, which he said he had asked to be reviewed even in his demi-official letters of June and December 2020. It comes in the backdrop of increase in drone activity along the villages falling with 5-6 kms of Indo-Pak border in Punjab, with consignments of weapons and heroin being delivered into India by Pakistan. Intelligence reports also suggest that with the assembly elections in Punjab just a few months away, ISI-led Khalistani and Kashmiri terror outfits are planning terrorist actions in the state in the near future. The chief minister pointed out that farmers have been agitating for the past seven months on Delhi-Haryana borders, and also in the state, demanding repeal of these laws and their protests have been more or less peaceful so far. “It is a little unfortunate that multiple rounds of engagement between the Union ministers and representatives of farmers’ groups have not been successful,” he said. Highlighting some other issues and concerns of farmers, Amarinder referred to his letter written to Modi on September 28, 2020, through which he sought to compensate farmers for the additional cost of managing crop residues at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal of paddy, apart from minimum support price as residue burning always remains a no-cost option for them. Noting that it was extremely important to prevent stubble burning in view of the anticipated third wave of Covid-19, the chief minister said farmers needed to be categorically reassured about their concerns regarding the provisioning of MSP and continued public procurement of wheat and paddy. Their immediate fears about hike in prices of fertilisers after October 31, 2021, also needed to be addressed, as nearly 60% of DAP consumed in the state would be during November and December for the sowing of wheat, the letter reads.

The Times of India

2021-07-17

Chandigarh