Farmers Movement Archive

I am with protesting farmers; Centre asked me to stop them in Punjab, I refused: Capt

AnandpurSahib Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday pledged his continued support to farmers agitating against the three Central farm laws, adding that the Centre had turned the issue into one that impinged on its prestige. “My heart is with the farmers protesting on the borders of Delhi. The Centre had asked me to stop these farmers in Punjab and not allow them to come to Delhi, but I refused to do this,” he said, after launching a ₹520-crore debt relief scheme for 2.85 lakh farm labourers and landless farmers in the state. He dedicated the scheme to the state on the 77th birth anniversary of his friend, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.“Like every Indian, farmers also have the right to democratic protest in the national capital. These small farmers are not fighting for themselves, but for their coming generations,” he said, questioning the Centre on its failure to see the pain of protesting farmers. “We have amended the Constitution 127 times, so why are we not doing it now? Why is the Centre turning the farm laws into an issue involving its prestige,” he questioned, adding that he had categorically urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to repeal the laws.He added that the Centre need to protect the Minimum Support System (MSP) and the market system as well as the traditional relationship between the farmers and the arhtiyas in the country’s interest.Elaborating on the loan waiver scheme, the CM said his government was waiving loans amounting to ₹520 crore of farm labourers and landless farmers, with respect to the principal amount against their cooperative debt as on July 31, 2017, and simple interest levied of 7% per year on the above amount till March 6, 2019. Previously, his government had waived ₹4,700 crore worth of loans (up to ₹2 lakh of crop loan each) for 5.85 lakh small and marginal famers.On Friday, Amarinder handed over cheques to 21 farm labourers and landless labourers, with ministers and MLAs set to disburse cheques to others over the next few days.Responding to assembly speaker Rana KP Singh’s concern on the plight of small traders and urban shopkeepers amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the CM said the government will support them too. He ruled out any further lockdown, with the hope that the state would be spared the third wave of Covid. Addressing the gathering, MLA Raj Kumar Verka and MP Manish Tewari termed the debt waiver of farm labourers and landless farmers as a historic step towards the realisation of Rajiv’s vision.

Hindustan Times

20-08-2021

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