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Former Haryana chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, launched a scathing attack on Haryana’s BJP government, saying it had betrayed farmers yet again. 

Not only are they being forced to sell millets, cotton, and paddy at distress rates in the markets, they’re also being harassed by being booked in cases of stubble burning, he said.

“Before the elections, the BJP had promised paddy farmers a rate of ₹3,100 per quintal, but this assurance remained unfulfilled last season and has been broken again this season. Despite brisk arrivals of paddy in Haryana’s markets, farmers are facing immense hardship due to the absence of procurement. They are compelled to sell millet at rates ₹800-1,000 below the MSP, cotton at nearly ₹2,000 less, and paddy at ₹300–400 per quintal less. Procurement agencies are declining to purchase on the pretext of moisture, forcing growers to wait for days and nights in mandis,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Hooda, along with Congress state president, Chaudhary Udai Bhan, attended the funeral of Shakuntala Bhagwaria’s son, Tarun Bhagwaria, where they paid floral tributes to the departed soul and extended condolences to the bereaved family.

 

Also Read: Farmers looted over paddy prices: Hooda

Later, addressing the farmers’ plight, Hooda said farmers who were still reeling from the devastation caused by floods, are now facing relentless exploitation as they await the promised MSP.

Procurement has not even commenced in most mandis, Hooda pointed out, and gate passes were not being issued either owing to incomplete verification on the procurement portal or due to non-registration of rice millers. 

Taking advantage of this flawed system, private agencies are buying paddy at an MSP of ₹2,369, at just ₹1,900–2,000 per quintal, he said.

“On one hand, they are being denied the rightful MSP, and on the other, they are being booked in cases of stubble burning. FIRs and challans have already been filed against farmers in Fatehabad and Jind,” said the former CM, saying government indifference had reached its zenith. 

Saying this is akin to rubbing salt onto the wounds of the farmers, Hooda reminded the government that it is responsible for extending relief and support to the farmers during times of distress and disaster, instead of harassing and punishing them.