Congress MPs from Punjab protest against slow paddy procurement fertiliser shortage

New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI) Congress MPs from Punjab on Friday staged a protest in the Parliament complex against alleged delay in paddy procurement and fertiliser shortage, and demanded that the government compensate the farmers who were forced to sell their produce below the minimum support price (MSP).
    Congress MP from Ludhiana and the party’s Punjab chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring blamed the BJP-led Union government and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for the situation.
    “MPs from Punjab raised their voice for the farmers of Punjab, the situation they are facing. They even spent the night at Mandi on Diwali, and were forced to sell below the MSP,” Warring told reporters outside Parliament.
    “The central government should form a committee and probe those who bought crops below the MSP. Farmers should get the price as per the MSP,” he said.
    Congress MP from Fatehgarh Sahib, Amar Singh said farmers were forced to sell their crops 8-10 per cent below the MSP.
    “This is the first time that paddy procurement is not being done properly. Farmers of Punjab had to wait for over a month, and were forced to sell it 8-10 per cent less than the MSP.
    “The government should compensate farmers, and make arrangements so that it is not repeated in the future,” he said.
    Dharamvira Gandhi, the Congress MP from Patiala, added that the government should also announce a loan waiver for farmers of north India.
    "The state and central governments have not taken steps to resolve issues faced by farmers in Punjab… the stores were not emptied, there is a labour problem which was not resolved, truckers’ issues were not resolved, no processes were completed, and farmers were forced to spend days waiting to sell their produce, and were eventually forced to sell it at a lower price.
    "Loan waiver should be given to farmers of north India,” he added.
    The MPs also staged a protest in the Parliament complex, displaying placards with slogans like “farmers in Punjab are not getting DAP fertiliser”, “crop is being procured below MSP”, and “worst procurement in 25 years”.
    The MPs raised slogans against the Union and Punjab governments.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)