Rohtak, Sep 22 (IANS) Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda on Monday said kharif crops like paddy, millet, and cotton have begun arriving in the market, but the government has failed to start their procurement that led to farmers “being compelled to sell the produce at distress prices”.

He said the paddy is being sold at Rs 300-400 per quintal below the minimum support price (MSP), while the millet at nearly Rs 600 less a quintal and cotton at around Rs 2,000 less per quintal.

He told the media here that after facing the devastating floods, farmers are now being forced to endure yet another blow at the hands of the government.

Replying to a question on the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Hooda said that every party in a democracy has the freedom to conduct politics and organise programmes.

“However, parties usually try to present their achievements before the public through such events.”

He said the BJP and the INLD stand out as parties with no record of achievements to showcase.

The INLD, he alleged, is functioning as a proxy for the BJP, since the BJP never contests the Congress directly but instead relies on allies like the INLD and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) to split anti-BJP votes and mislead the public by manipulating sentiments.

Leader of Opposition Hooda said the BJP and the INLD lack any accomplishments to present and asked whether they would explain to the people the conditions of Haryana under their rule.

He questioned what the situation of farmers was during that time and reminded that during the INLD regime, farmers were fired upon.

He asked who was responsible for incidents such as the Meham massacre and who chose to flee in disguise instead of facing accountability. Congress leader Hooda further asked whether the INLD would explain why farmers’ lands were forcibly taken during its government, why debt-ridden farmers’ lands were confiscated, and why those farmers were arrested and imprisoned.

He said the people of Haryana still remember that under the INLD-BJP regime, hooliganism was rampant and governance was virtually run from jail.

Hooda said it was the Congress government in 2005 that freed the state from this atmosphere of intimidation.

The Congress, he added, waived electricity bills worth Rs 1,600 crore for farmers, brought down the interest rate on crop loans to zero, waived Rs 2,300 crore loans and introduced a policy ensuring that no farmer’s land would ever be confiscated. He challenged the INLD to present these truths to the public.

Turning his attention to the BJP, Hooda said the party had not fulfilled a single promise it made before the elections. The pledge of giving farmers Rs 3,100 per quintal for paddy proved entirely hollow.

Similarly, the promise of providing Rs 2,100 monthly support to women also turned out to be a sham, as the government-imposed conditions that limited the scheme’s benefits to a select few.

Hooda said the BJP government deliberately delays every process, whether it be procurement, compensation, or fertiliser distribution.

Surveys of flood-affected land are proceeding at a sluggish pace, with only 3 lakh acres verified so far out of a total 31 lakh acres reportedly damaged.

He urged the state BJP government to immediately conduct special land surveys and provide financial relief to farmers, saying that the complications created through portals are designed solely to deny compensation.

He pointed out that when it comes to registering cases of stubble burning, the government relies on satellite imagery. He questioned why the same technology cannot be used to identify flooded fields and compensate affected farmers.

Recalling the floods of 1995 in the state, two-time Chief Minister Hooda said the then Congress government had provided direct cash compensation to farmers for every kind of loss, including crops, farm structures, tubewells, houses, and shops.

–IANS

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