Chandigarh, July 26, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today castigated the union government for failing farmers by refusing to implement the Swaminathan Commission recommendations on MSP for crops, even as she called for implementing the Bhav Antar scheme till this was not done.
She also called for reopening the Wagah border for international trade, giving concessions to the cycles and sports industry and releasing Rural Development Fund and Sarv Siksha Abhiyan dues to Punjab.
Speaking on the budget, the Bathinda MP also called for righting the historical wrongs done to Punjab by giving it compensation for grant of 8 MAF water to Rajasthan as well as ensure the transfer of Chandigarh to the State.
Asserting that the “Sarkar Bachao budget” 2024 had discriminated against the farmers, poor, women and youth, Mrs Harsimrat Badal said “this budget has only tried to serve the two alliance partner States of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar who received the lion’s share of funds along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled States even as all other States had been given a step motherly treatment”.
The MP in her stirring speech said it was shocking that even natural calamities like floods and religious circuits had not been spared from bias.
“Religious circuits and temple have received special grants but Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar where two lakh lakh devotees from across the globe visit every day, has not been given any grant under the religious tourism head. She said similarly the pick and choose policy had been implemented in the case of natural calamities as well.
She said Himachal had received flood relief “but Punjab, which is flooded when gates of dams in Himachal are thrown open, has been forgotten”.
Asking if the centre had any enmity with Punjab, Mrs Badal said “when there are floods Punjab suffers but when there is water shortage all parties including the Congress, BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demand the SYL canal be constructed to rob Punjab of its river waters”.
Asserting that the issue of cost to be imposed on 8 MAF water given to Rajasthan was dragging since 70 years, she said either water going to Rajasthan should be stopped or compensation should be given to Punjab for the same.
Speaking about how the income of farmers had declined in the past decade, Mrs Badal said the NDA government had promised to double farmer income but the truth was that agri growth which was 4.7 per cent in 2022-23 was now 1.4 per cent.
Speaking about the input costs, she said a 40 kg bag of wheat seed which cost Rs 800 to Rs 1200 in 2016 now priced at Rs 2000. She said even fertilizer prices had nearly tripled during this period.
Demanding implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations, Mrs Badal said MSP should be calculated on the basis of fifty per cent profit plus comprehensive cost of production. She said till this is not done the Bhav Antar scheme should be implemented to ensure farmers were compensated for the losses suffered by farmers in selling short of MSP.
Mrs Badal said similarly there was no increase in the MNREGA rates even as urea subsidy had decreased by 7.4 per cent as compared to last year and nutrient based subsidy by 25 per cent. She said budgetary allocations for flagship programmes like PM Garib Kalyan Yojna had decreased by 3.3 per cent as compared to last year.
She also highlighted how neither the MNREGA days had been increased nor the emolument. She also made a case for granting more funds to Punjab for SC welfare as it had the highest population of scheduled castes in the country.
Speaking about the decline in the industrial sector in Punjab due to tax incentives to hill States, Mrs Badal said the Finance minister during her recent visit to Ludhiana had promised to revoke amendment Section 43B (h) of the IT Act which mandates companies to make payments within 44 days to MSME vendors to claim IT deductions or else forfeit their right to deduct those expenses from their taxable income.
She said this promise had not been fulfilled in the budget.
She also spoke about unemployment and drug abuse and the need to allocate funds to deal with these twin issues besides highlighting the massive corruption in the ICDS program under which government contracts for making food for lactating mothers and children had been withdrawn and given to a private company in Punjab. EOM
