Punjab, Haryana farmers being punished under planned conspiracy

Chandigarh: Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday alleged that the Centre wants to end MSP through backdoor and Punjab and Haryana farmers are being punished under a planned conspiracy for opposing the now repealed farm laws.

He also challenged Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to debate with him on the entire issue. Addressing a news conference here, Surjewala claimed Punjab and Haryana farmers are being punished under a planned conspiracy and a design for opposing the three farm laws. He alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre, under a planned conspiracy, wants to end MSP through backdoor.

Surjewala said less paddy procurement has taken place till today over the corresponding period of last year in Punjab and Haryana. “There are six parts of the conspiracy. The principal part of the conspiracy is to finish MSP through backdoor, ultimately abolish the MSP, abolish the grain markets in the pattern of Bihar, and gradually abolish crop purchase at MSP by cutting it down. Today, they have cut down the purchase by half, then they will cut down by more.

In next 2-4 years, they will make MSP redundant, make registration for farmers on designated portals redundant,” he alleged.

“The agrarian market for products in this country is Rs 10 lakh crore. While BJP has captured most of the businesses for their cronie friends--two or three industrialists---this is the biggest market they could not capture. They want to now capture it, they could not do it through three black farm laws as they were forced to withdraw these, now they want to do it by abolishing the MSP. If there are no grain markets and no MSP, farmers will be forced to go to Adani’s silo and sell,” he alleged.

“Go to Dhand or Pundri grain market in Haryana’s Kaithal district.

The conspiracy has been unleashed, the grain market has been shut down there,” Surjewala further alleged. He said the BJP is punishing the farmers for agitation against the black farm laws “and in this conspiracy, the Narendra Modi government as well as Haryana and Punjab governments are in league”. There are nearly 9,000 rice mills in Punjab and Haryana, most of which do milling of grain procured for PDS and other schemes, he said.

The government creates an obstruction in the business of rice millers so that the purchase and milling of the paddy of the farmers purchased at MSP is in less quantity, he said.

“In the last five years, the Modi government has made a huge cut of Rs 3,30,000 crore in subsidy, that is fertilizer-food-and fuel subsidy. In the year 2020-21, this subsidy was 3.8 per cent of GDP at Rs 7,58,165 crore, and in the year 2024-25, this subsidy was reduced to 1.3 per cent of GDP, making it Rs 4,28,423 crore. Naturally, agriculture and farmers are suffering the result of this,” he said.

“The blow of the food subsidy is even bigger. In the last 2 years alone, the Modi government has cut the food subsidy by Rs 78,000 crore. In the year 2022-23, the budget expenditure on food subsidy was Rs 2,83,475 crore, which was reduced to Rs 2,05,250 crore in 2024-25. Who will pay the price for this, the farmers and poor labourers,” he asked.