Akalis, Congress responsible for pushing sugarcane farmers to abject poverty

Anmol Gagan Mann

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has accused the Captain Amarinder Singh-led state government of shielding the mill owners, mostly

Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has accused the Captain Amarinder Singh-led state government of shielding the mill owners, mostly from various political spectrums, including the Congress and Akalis Dal, who owe the sugarcane farmers a whopping dues worth Rs 250 crore, leaving them devastated. It said that the sugarcane growers had been running from pillar to post for the past three years for the release of their payment.

In a press statement issued from the party headquarters on Wednesday, Aam Aadmi state Party Youth Wing co-president Anmol Gagan Mann said that the sugar mill owners, mostly Congress and Akali Dal leaders, were holding back their money for years now with the government in the saddle acting as a lame duck. She said if the pending payment was not released to the farmers immediately, the Aam Aadmi Party would besiege the residences of the political heavy weights owning the sugar mills.

AAP MLAs, RTI activist demand Media Regulatory Authority & Code AAPGagan Mann said "Capt. Amarinder Singh, who pretends to be the champion of the farmers' causes, was at, slowly yet steadily, abolishing the cooperative system, saying the Chief Minister wanted the age-old system go as he wanted to oblige his kin and political cronies by handing over the mills to them.

Mann added that Capt. Amarinder Singh was indulging in pedalling sheer lies about the claim that he was fighting for the farmers, as he had no interest in the issues and concerns of the farmers. She said that, while on the one hand he (CM) was posing as the farmers' messiah, he was maintaining a stoic silence over the non-payment of the dues of the farmers for more than three years, on the other hand.

Anmol Gagan Mann

Taking a swipe at the CM, the youth leader said that the Modi government at the Centre enacted three anti-farm laws, adding that Capt. Amarinder Singh had played a significant role in clearing the passage for the implementation of the draconian laws. She said that CM's dubious role had exposed his anti-farmer face.

She further said that Captain Amariinder Singh's claim that he had been fighting tooth and nail to stymie implementation of the Central farm laws in the state, stood deflated his flip-flop on the issue. She said that if the Chief Minister had a little sympathy left for the farmers, he should crack a whip on the mill owners to release the dues of the sugarcane growers.