Revoke red entries in land records for burning stubble: Akali Dal
Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Nov, 2022 12:47 PM
Chandigarh, Nov 17 (IANS) Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Thursday demanded the revocation of red entries made in land records of thousands of farmers, saying they had burnt paddy stubble only after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had failed to compensate them for the cost incurred in managing it.
Asserting that the SAD stood with the beleaguered peasantry, he announced the party would oppose collection of penalties imposed on the farmers, besides launching a sustained campaign in case the red entries in land records were not revoked.
"The AAP government has created another list akin to the black list of the Central government which will cause untold hardship to farmers who will become ineligible for loans and will not be able to mortgage their land. This is discriminatory and a plot to deny them access to various other government benefits also which is intolerable," former minister Majithia added.
Holding the Chief Minister responsible for the current state of affairs, the Akali leader said that "farmers burnt their paddy stubble only after Bhagwant Mann went back on his word to give them a cash incentive of Rs 2,500 per acre to offset them for the loss incurred in managing it".
He said after making announcements and milking cheap publicity, the AAP government did not pay a single rupee to farmers to manage their paddy stubble. "Instead coercive steps, including police action, were taken to force farmers to manage their stubble at their own cost. Those unable to do so due to financial constraints have been penalised and red entries have been made in their land records."
Asserting that the AAP government should have taken on the responsibility of managing the paddy straw, Majithia said instead of doing this farmers had been encouraged to purchase heavy machinery for which even the promised grants had not been released.
"Moreover, small and marginal farmers cannot purchase these machines which are usable for only a fortnight annually."
He said action was being taken against these farmers despite a clear assurance by the AAP government that no punitive action would be taken against farmers who burnt stubble due to lack of machines or resources.
Majithia said like in the case of law and order and general administration, the AAP government had created a crisis in the agricultural sector by repeatedly failing to come to the aid of farmers and addressing their grievances.
During deliberations, the Chief Minister envisaged opportunities for mutual collaboration in business and solutions. He said that the alliance could provide on-field handholding to Punjab farmers in best practices of crop management.
Balkaur Singh, whose son was shot dead in daylight on May 29 close to his Moosa village in Punjab on May 28, had complained of uneasiness on Thursday night following which he was admitted to a private hospital in Patiala from where he was shifted to the PGIMER here.
Majithia told the media here that this was also necessary because the AAP government had neither made the FIR registered in this case public even after 24 hours, nor taken any action against any BJP leader or middlemen involved.
The matter came to the fore after the victim narrated the ordeal to her parents who rescued her and later approached the Women police station at Gurugram's Sector-51 and registered a case against the accused on Wednesday. The victim told the police that she had met Pooja at a Gurugram mall a month ago. Pooja had offered her a job at a doctor's clinic.
The local people and Bishal's family members claimed that he was found with multiple wounds on Wednesday. It is alleged that Bishal was killed for not agreeing to convert to Christianity in order to marry his tribal girlfriend. Though the police are yet to confirm whether the youth was killed or committed suicide, they have arrested five people in connection with the case.
According to a source with the Ministry, the diplomats see it as a question of credibility and said that such tall claims should be avoided as it hurts the credibility of the country and the government too. The source said that it has left the diplomats embarrassed.
