Strap: as many as 4,300 GoG (ex-serviceman) left jobless. Compensation was not paid to the cotton and moong growers.
Chandigarh : On the occasion of the 118th birth anniversary of the former prime minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri, who gave the ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ slogan, the Leader of Opposition and Senior Congress Leader, Partap Singh Bajwa on Sunday rebuked the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Government in Punjab for its failure to honour the genuine demands of both Jawan (retired army personnel) and Kisan (Farmers).
LoP, Partap Singh Bajwa said that these two sections- army personnel and farmers – assisted in nation-building more than any other section. Yet, the AAP government has failed to acknowledge their woes. “Instead of providing a helping hand to the ex-servicemen, the Aam Aadmi Party Government in Punjab scrapped the Guardian of Governance (GoG) scheme launched by the previous Congress regime to provide employment to the retired army personnel. This ill-conceived idea has left around 4,300 ex-servicemen jobless”, said Senior Congress Leader, Partap Singh Bajwa.
Lashing out at the AAP government over its sheer negligent approach towards the farming sector that has already been reeling under crisis, Partap Singh Bajwa said that the cotton growers of the Malwa region in Punjab had got their crops damaged due to the Pink Bollworm (Gulabi Sundi) attack, the government has yet to conduct a girdawari (survey) to assess the damage. Likewise, around 20 percent of the paddy crop in the Majha and Doaba region has been damaged by an infestation of the dwarf virus, nothing has been done to assess the damage.
LoP Partap Singh Bajwa said that after the assurances of CM Bhagwant Mann that the state government would procure the moong crops at MSP Rs 7275 per quintal, the area under moong crops increased by 77 percent. Despite assurances, the vast majority of moong growers were forced to sell their produce to private buyers at a lower price. The AAP government again remained unsuccessful to keep its promise.
He said thousands of dairy farmers suffered losses due to lumpy skin diseases in cows. Again no compensation was paid to the dairy farmers. Likewise, CM Bhagwant has promised to provide financial assistance of Rs 1500 per acre to the farmers, who would adopt the Direct Sowing of Rice (DSR) technique for paddy sowing. Encouraged by this assurance, the area under DSR increased to 77,000 acres. Once again Bhagwant Mann’s government let the farmers down. “The farmers in Punjab were also felt cheated by both centre and state governments due to non-payment of the low-yield of the wheat crop”, he added.
Partap Singh Bajwa said as always, the congress party is determined to stand firmly with ex-servicemen and farmers, who have enormous contributions to building this nation.
