Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, questioned farmer leaders for only protesting against the Centre and not cornering the Aam Adami Party(AAP)-led State government to press for bonus on MSP and non-payment of compensation for damaged crops.
Mr. Jakhar’s reaction came amid his party candidates facing protests from farmers during campaigning for the Lok Sabha election in the State. As part of the protests, the farmers posed questions to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and showed them black flags for not agreeing to their demands.
Mr. Jakhar said the AAP government in Punjab had promised to pay Rs. 20,000 per acre as compensation for crop damages during the floods last year but the farmers received just Rs. 6,800 per acre, which the Centre had allocated out of the disaster relief fund. “Why is there silence on the ₹20,000 compensation and why is no protest against CM Bhagwant Mann being held,” Mr. Jakhar asked farmer leaders.
Addressing the media in Chandigarh, Mr. Jakhar underlined a slew of “farmer-friendly” measures initiated by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, seeking to debunk the “false” narrative being scripted by the AAP and the Congress in Punjab to divert attention from their “failures”.
He cited a huge upsurge in payout to farmers in the State by the Centre, saying the increase in payments were in line with the BJP’s commitment to double farmers’ income.
Mr. Jakhar reiterated that issues of agitating farmers can only be addressed by the next government at the Centre.
The Punjab BJP chief claimed that the budget for agriculture in 10 years of the Narendra Modi government has been hiked from ₹21,900 crore to ₹25 lakh crore in 2024.
