Punjab govt to give job to kin of farmers
- January 23, 2021
- Updated: 01:12 am
DW BUREAU / chandigarh
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday announced job for a member of the family of each farmer from the state who died during the agitation against the Centre's new farm laws. Singh said he has received a report that 76 farmers from the state have died so far. "All Punjabis are concerned about our farmers sitting on the Delhi borders. They are there to persuade the Centre to repeal that laws that were implemented without taking us into confidence," he said. "Lots of old people are sitting there at the (Delhi) borders not for themselves but for the future of their children and grandchildren," said Amarinder Singh, adding that "we are losing our farmers to the cold every day, with an estimated 76 farmers dying so far".
In addition to the Rs 5 lakh compensation being given to the families of the dead farmers, his government will also give job to a member of their family, he added during the 20th edition of his Facebook Live #AskCaptain session. The CM also slammed the Shiromani Akali Dal and AAP for spreading "lies" over the farm laws and dubbed the Centre's refusal to repeal them as "inhuman." Farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been camping at Delhi's borders for several weeks, demanding the repeal of the farm laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for crops. The government's negotiations with protesting farm unions hit a roadblock on Friday as the farmer leaders stuck to their demands for a complete repeal of three farm laws they find pro-corporate and a legal guarantee for MSP, even as the Centre asked them to reconsider its proposal for putting the Acts on hold for 12-18 months. Unlike the last 10 rounds of talks, the 11th round could not even reach a decision on the next date for the meeting as the government also hardened its position saying it is ready to meet again once the unions agree to discuss the suspension proposal. This followed a big climbdown made by the Centre during the last round when they offered to suspend the laws and form a joint committee to find solutions.
Farmer leaders said they will intensify their agitation now and alleged that the government's approach was not right during the meeting. They also said their tractor rally will go ahead as per the plans on January 26 and unions have told the police that it is the government's responsibility to maintain peace. While the meeting lasted for almost five hours, the two sides sat face to face for less than 30 minutes. In the very beginning, the farmer leaders informed the government that they have decided to reject the proposal made by the government in the last round of talks on Wednesday. The three central ministers, including Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, urged the union representatives to reconsider their stand, after which the two sides went for a lunch break. The break, during which the farmer leaders had their langar (community kitchen) food, lasted for more than three hours and also saw the 41 farmer leaders holding consultations among themselves, at times in smaller groups, while the three central ministers waited in a separate room at Vigyan Bhawan. After the meeting, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan said the discussions have broken down as the unions rejected the government's proposal.
Asserting that "we are with the farmers and will stand by them," the Chief Minister said during the 20th edition of his Facebook Live #AskCaptain session that the Punjab government and every person in Punjab stands with the farmers. "All Punjabis are concerned about our farmers sitting on Delhi borders, they are there to persuade Centre to repeal laws that were implemented without taking us into confidence," he said, adding that "lots of old people are sitting there at the borders not for themselves but for the future of their children and grandchildren." The sad part, said the Chief Minister, was that "we are losing our farmers to the cold every day, with an estimated farmers 76 dying so far."
(editor@dailyworld.in)