Why is adamant union govt not listening to upset farmers: asks Capt Amarinder Singh

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday asked the Union government why it was being adamant on the issue of farm laws and not listening to the farmers.

“It is the job of the government to listen to its people. If farmers are joining the agitation from so many states, then they must be really upset,” said the Chief Minister asserting his government’s commitment to stand firmly with the farmers in their fight against the black laws.

On the Prime Minister’s adamant stand that the new laws are beneficial to the farmers, the Chief Minister said Narendra Modi had been maintaining this line since the beginning, which was the reason why Punjab came out with its own Bills.

He questioned the Governor’s decision to sit on those Bills instead of forwarding them to the President, which he is required to do, and pointed out that the Governor had done this even last year on the Bill related to the CM’s advisors.

Pointing out that the MSP and ‘arhtiya’ system was the backbone of Punjab’s successful agricultural model, with the farmers and arhtiyas sharing a very close bond, the Chief Minister questioned the need to change the established system. “Will the corporates who would take the place of the arhtiyas ever care to help farmers in times of crisis?” he asked.

Amarinder Singh observed that Guru Sahib had attached great significance to the small farmers, who constitute the bulk of Punjab’s farming community, with 75 per cent of them holding less than five acres of land. “It is these very farmers who would be ruined by the black agriculture laws enacted by the Union Government,” he said, adding that it was against these legislations that the farmers were currently protesting at Delhi borders braving the harsh winter cold, the COVID threat and the brutality of the Haryana police.

On the Kartarpur Corridor, the Chief Minister said it was time for the Centre to open it, since even Pakistan had done so. “I don’t know why the central government is not opening it,” he added.

Citing the emerging challenges of internal and external aggression, Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh underlined the need for unity to counter the forces trying to divide the nation on communal lines. He pointed out that Punjabi soldiers like Gurtej Singh had made the supreme sacrifice and killed 12 Chinese soldiers in the recent clashes at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Only a united India could fight the enemy, he added. The great Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji had promoted the ideology of oneness of all humans, rising above petty caste and religious considerations, he pointed out, underscoring the relevance of this message in the current times.

The Chief Minister was visiting the two towns of Punjab Sultanpur Lodhi and Dera Bana Nanak to mark the culmination of 550th birth anniversary celebrations and the 551st Prakash Parv of the first Sikh Guru.

Greeting the Sangat across the globe, the Chief Minister stressed that the centuries-old teachings of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji were still relevant in contemporary times, and continue to inspire people with his philosophy of love, peace, compassionate and humanity. He said that Sikhs had been living in every nook and corner of the world, thus disseminating the ideology and message of ‘Sarbat Da Bhala’ as envisioned by the Guru Ji.

The CM said the pace of the ongoing development projects at Sultanpur Lodhi and Dera Baba Nanak would be accelerated, in addition to the launch of new projects to develop these places as planned townships.

Describing Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s life and teachings a lighting tower for all, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunil Jakhar said that we should emulate the teachings of Guru Ji in the true spirit for a prosperous and healthy society.