Chandigarh, January 5: LoP Khaira in a statement released here today announced a protest against Capt. Amarinder Singh’s debt waiver rally at Mansa on 7th January by showing black flags to the Chief Minister. Khaira said the AAP is forced to lodge this protest as there is great resentment amongst the small and marginal farmers of Punjab who feel deceived and cheated by the Congress government on the so called debt waiver scheme. Khaira said Capt. Amarinder Singh’s false promise of waiving of debt had taken his first toll yesterday when a 2 acre farmer Sikander Singh of Sangrur not finding his name in the list committed suicide.
Khaira stated that his office was maintaining a list of farmers who had committed suicides ever since Capt. Amarinder Singh took over as CM on 16thMarch 2017. He said as per the list 311 farmers had committed suicide till yesterday, which indicates that the farmers have lost complete faith in Capt. Amarinder Singh and the Congress government.
Khaira said that he has been receiving many complaints from small and marginal farmers that their names are being excluded from the debt waiver list because of political reasons as well as officials demanding bribe from them. He said the current government and its MLA are picking up debt waiver beneficiaries at their whims and fancies and ignoring genuine deserving farmers who will have no other way but to commit suicide.
Khaira reminded Capt. Amarinder Singh of his pre poll promise of a complete debt waiver both institutional as well as non institutional loans that amount to approx. Rs. 1 lac crore. Whereas he said now the government had shrunk this debt waiver package to approx. Rs. 750 crore and that too by pledging the income of Mandi Board Punjab for the next 10 years. He said this is a cruel joke with the farmers in the name of debt waiver and urged the government to waive off all debts of the small and marginal farmers.
He said in order to pressurise the government to genuinely ameliorate the lot of struggling farmers, AAP has decided to protest at the Chief Minster rally venue on 7th January by showing black flags to him.
