Jakhar urges Mann: Address farmer concerns in Assembly

Lashing out at Chief Minister for deliberately misleading Punjab’s farmers over MSP all along, the Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Monday asked Bhagwant Mann not to run away from Vidhan Sabha every day by managing a fixed match with Congress and to have the courage to discuss issues and concerns raised by farmers on the floor of the House.
On the occasion, the state BJP President was accompanied by BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma, Jangi Lal Mahajan, several former MLAs, besides party cadre and workers.

«Vidhan Sabha is the most appropriate forum to resolve issues, and I have come here today to remind Bhagwant Mann and his so-called opposition Congress of their constitutional duty to convince the people of Punjab about the benefits they will receive even if MSP guarantee for all 23 crops is legalized,» Jakhar said while interacting with mediapersons outside Vidhan Sabha.

Directly blaming AAP and Congress for inciting innocent farmers by sending them to the border for protests which led to Shubhkaran›s tragic death, Jakhar said, «Doesn›t the CM know that Punjab gets full MSP on every single grain of wheat and paddy produced by farmers, and there is no other crop as remunerative as these two crops?’

‘I ask Bhagwant Mann, LoP Partap Singh Bajwa, and Raja Warring, who are self-appointed advocates of our farmers, to tell me which crop out of the remaining 21 crops they are willing to grow. You name that crop, and I will get you the MSP guarantee on that from the centre,’Jakhar said, challenging these leaders to have the courage to tell the truth to farmers and not get youngsters like Shubhkaran killed for their own political ambitions.

Reiterating that Punjab is staring at a situation arising from rapidly depleting groundwater, Jakhar said the CM must convince farmers to come back from the state border and let the trade of perishable fruits and vegetables, including kinnows, resume smoothly. ‘How do we even believe industry will be attracted towards Punjab if we keep borders closed by inciting people,’ Jakhar asked the CM, reminding him of his visits to business companies seeking investment for Punjab.

Sounding a warning to those trying to sully Punjab›s image for their vested motives, Jakhar said, ‘Our state today is being turned into a seething cauldron for fighting someone else›s causes.

We know that Punjab getting MSP irks some outsiders. We have full sympathies with farmers of other states for their concerns, but their so-called leaders are not allowed to misuse Punjab›s youth for their own fight,’ Jakhar said.