Farmers protest in Panchkula, seek CBI probe into ‘paddy scam’

BKU (Charuni) district president Narinder Singh said that farmers from Panchkula, Ambala, and nearby districts gathered at around 10 am

Demanding CBI probe into the alleged ₹5,000 paddy scam along with their other demands, nearly 400 farmers from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) organised protest and submitted two memorandums to the additional deputy commissioner (ADC) addressed to the Prime Minister and Haryana chief minister, on Tuesday.

Mmebers of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) outside the district secretariat to press for various demands in Panchkula on Tuesday. (Sant Arora /HT)

BKU leader Gurnam Singh Charuni was also present during the protest.

BKU (Charuni) district president Narinder Singh said that farmers from Panchkula, Ambala, and nearby districts gathered at around 10 am. They remained at the site for nearly four hours and submitted the two separate memorandums to the ADC, Panchkula.

The first memorandum, addressed to the CM, demanded an impartial CBI investigation into alleged large-scale irregularities and a scam exceeding ₹5,000 crore during the paddy procurement season 2025–26 in Haryana. The farmers demanded immediate registration of FIRs against officials and employees involved in procurement and verification, along with seizure and preservation of all related records.

The second memorandum raised issues concerning the general public and farmers, including rising inflation and the commercialisation of healthcare, education, and agriculture. The demands included regulation of private hospitals and schools to curb high costs, provision of affordable healthcare and education, complete loan waivers for farmers, a permanent debt-relief policy, a legal guarantee of MSP for all crops, and a review of the Seed Bill to prevent corporate control and strengthen agricultural research.