Sunil Jakhar says Mann govt cut paddy target, left Punjab farmers stranded

Abohar. Punjab farmers are stuck in grain markets with unsold paddy because the Bhagwant Mann government cut Fazilka district’s procurement target by nearly 50,000 tonnes, former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar alleged on Saturday.

Jakhar made the charge after meeting farmers at the Abohar grain market. He said Fazilka bought 226,207 metric tonnes of paddy last year. This year the state set the target at 176,960 tonnes, even though more land in the district is under paddy. In Abohar mandi, the target fell to 67,200 tonnes from last year’s 79,963 tonnes.

He demanded an inquiry into who ordered the cut, calling it proof of the AAP government’s anti-farmer approach.

Jakhar said the state did not assess the district’s crop in time. He said it also failed to ask the Centre on time for a higher Cash Credit Limit (CCL) to fund a bigger target. He accused the government of stabbing farmers in the back through poor planning and of making them suffer on purpose.

Farmers have waited in mandis for several days, he said, yet Punjab’s food and supplies minister, agriculture minister and chief minister have not taken up the matter with the Centre. Jakhar said that when farmers protested in Chandigarh, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian gave them a written promise that decisions in their favour would be carried out. He said farmers were still waiting to sell their crop.

The BJP leader also alleged that farmers lost money to widespread deductions during earlier paddy purchases. He sought a probe into whether that money reached the accounts of officials or political leaders.

Jakhar said he stood firmly with farmers. He said the Centre would give all possible help once Punjab sent a written request. Until then, he said, the state should buy the paddy with its own money while it seeks a higher quota, and settle the cost when central funds arrive.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had always stood by farmers. According to Jakhar, the Centre released a cash credit limit of more than ₹42,000 crore on September 28, as Punjab had asked, to buy 180 lakh tonnes of paddy. He said the Centre had also raised the subsidy on potash and phosphate fertilisers by 64% for the rabi season. It buys DAP at ₹100 a kilogram and sells it to farmers at ₹27 a kilogram, he said.

Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar was also present.