Punjab government to continue fight against agriculture bills till last breath, says Manpreet Singh Badal

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], September 24 : Assuring the state farmers of that Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab government is committed and duty-bound to safeguard their interests, the state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Thursday said that the fight against 'anti-farmers' Agriculture Bills will continue.
As per the official release, Badal while interacting with media said that the farm ordinances, which have been recently passed by the parliament, were primarily aimed at lifting the safety cover in the form of Minimum Support Price (MSP), thereby ruining the food growers of the country.
"The bills will severely affect not only farmers but every Punjabi," he said.
Urging people of the state to act wisely in the hour of crisis, Badal said that Punjabis are blessed with an indomitable spirit of hard work and an indefatigable attitude against tyranny, oppression and injustice. "Punjabis will not accept any such move that aims to harm farmers' interests, and the Punjab Government will vehemently oppose these malicious attempts of BJP led Union Government," he said
He said that no one will be allowed to harm the interests of farmers at any cost and added that the agriculture bills will deprive the farmers of a safety cover in the form of MSP.
"The Rs 50 increase in MSP of wheat announced by the Modi government recently was the least in the previous decade (only 2.6 %). This is despite the fact that the Commission for Agriculture Cost and Prices (CACP) had recommended an MSP increase of 6% in the wake of 8.4% food inflation. This is a pointer that the Union government is dragging its feet from giving due MSP to farmers," Badal said.
Highlighting the significance of MSP to farmers, he said that besides ensuring well being of food growers, it also acts as a catalyst in the state's development.
"The procurement of food grains worth Rs 70,000 crore takes place every year. The state receives Rs 3900 crore Mandi fees annually, which is used for maintenance, repair, and upkeep of 65,000 kilometres of link roads, bridges, culverts, Mandis, and other infrastructure," he said.
Citing three examples of the BJP government's anti-Punjab stance, the Finance Minister said that Punjab has always borne this attitude's brunt.
He said that the Special tax concessions to hill states, the GST regime, and now these agriculture bills have broken the backbone of Punjab's economy, and the worst part is that Shiromani Akali Dal has always been part and parcel of BJP's anti-Punjab tirade.
Slamming the Shiromani Akali Dal Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Finance Minister said that they are answerable to people as to why they were hand in glove with every anti-Punjab decision of the BJP.
"Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who had recently resigned from the Union Cabinet, has not even uttered a single word against BJP and its Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sukhbir must remember that their hands can be either on the PM's feet or the neck. Akali Dal is presently trying to run both with rabbit and hunter, which is not feasible," he added.