Farmers Movement Archive

BJP makes hay as Sidhu takes on Punjab govt on sugarcane prices

Amid continued protests against the three farm laws, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday lapped up Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu’s statement on sugarcane prices in the state being lower than Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to give itself a pat on the back. Also read: Sidhu summons advisors as row erupts over their comments on Kashmir, PakSidhu, while seeking a higher state advised price (SAP) in Punjab, said that the sugarcane farmers issue needs to be immediately resolved amicably. “Strange that despite the higher cost of cultivation in Punjab, the state advised price is too low as compared to Haryana/Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand. As torchbearer of agriculture, the Punjab SAP should be better!” he tweeted, questioning his own party’s government over its cane pricing policy. The sugarcane farmers are protesting in Jalandhar for the past four days for higher prices. Sidhu admits BJP doing more for farmers: MalviyaThe tweet comparing the sugarcane prices in these states drew quick responses from leaders of the BJP, which has facing farmers’ protests in these states against its central government’s three agriculture laws, in different parts of the country. Amit Malviya, the national in-charge of BJP’s IT department, welcomed the newly appointed Punjab Congress president’s remark. “Good to see Navjot Singh Sidhu, new Punjab Congress chief, admit that BJP governments in UP, Haryana and Uttarakhand are doing a lot more for farmers than Congress-ruled Punjab,” he tweeted. The Haryana BJP also retweeted the Punjab Congress president’s comment from its official Twitter handle, stating that “truth can be rattled, not defeated”. Endorsement of Haryana’s farm policy: Dushyant Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala also said that Sidhu’s statement was an endorsement of the pro-farmer policies of the Haryana government. Referring to Sidhu’s tweet, Delhi BJP general secretary Kuljeet Singh Chahal said that farmers must understand the reality. The BJP MP from Kachchh, Vinod Chavda, said that Sidhu had admitted that the BJP governments in these three states were doing more for farmers than in Congress-ruled Punjab. Punjab has a Congress government headed by chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, while Haryana, UP and Uttarakhand are ruled by the BJP. Though the Punjab government last week hiked the SAP by ₹15 per quintal to ₹325 for the early variety, the protesting farmers are not satisfied and want it to bring the price on a par with ₹350 per quintal in neighbouring Haryana.

Hindustan Times

23-08-2021

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