Who is anti-farmer, Punjab or Haryana? Khattar questions Amarinder Singh
New Delhi [India], August 30 (ANI): As the war of words on farmers' agitation continued between Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Captain Amarinder Singh, the former questioned how many crops have been procured by the Punjab government at Minimum Support Price (MSP).
"Dear @capt_amarinder ji, Haryana procures 10 crops at MSP - paddy, wheat, mustard, bajra, gram, moong, maize, ground nut, sun flower, cotton and makes the MSP payment directly into the account of the farmer. How many crops does Punjab buy from the farmer at MSP?" the Chief Minister asked in a series of tweets.
Khattar claimed that Haryana has been paying the highest MSP in the country for sugarcane for the last seven years.
"Why has Punjab felt the need to match Haryana only after an agitation by farmers?" he questioned.
Khattar also said that his government gives Rs 7,000 incentive to every farmer.
"Haryana provides an incentive of Rs 7000/- per acre to every farmer who wants to move away from paddy cultivation. What is the incentive that Punjab provides to the farmer similarly?" he asked.
He further questioned, "Haryana pays interest at 12 per cent to the farmer in case payment is delayed beyond 72 hours from the approval if the I-form. Does Punjab pay interest on delayed payment?"
Haryana pays an incentive of Rs 5000 per acre to the farmer who adopts direct seeding of rice technology and also pays every farmer Rs 1000 per acre for stubble management and provides linkages for sale of paddy straw, said the chief minister listing a number of benefits provided by the Haryana government adding, "What incentive does Punjab provide to the farmer?"
Elaborating further said that Haryana supports farmers growing horticultural produce by instituting the Bhawantar Bharpayee Yojana to insulate the farmer from price variations below cost.
"Haryana has started a micro-irrigation scheme to support farmers with 85% subsidy to manage precious water for irrigation. What incentive does Punjab provide, and is it even concerned about the rapidly depleting water table that will finish the farmer?" he asked.
"Who is anti-farmer, @capt_amarinderji? Punjab or Haryana?" Khattar asked.
These remarks come after the Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh condemned the Haryana Police for retaliating with lathi charge and injuring farmers after they blocked Surajpur Toll Plaza on the Kalka-Zirakpur Highway in Haryana.
Singh slammed Khattar for defending the "criminal assault on peacefully protesting farmers" by putting the onus of their agitation on Punjab, saying that ML Khattar's remarks had completely exposed his government's anti-farmer agenda. (ANI)