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‘I am your mittar keeda, talk to me before holding stirs’: CM to farmers
Addressing farmers during the inauguration of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Kisan Mela, Mann said he was not in favour of lodging FIRs against farmers for stubble burning
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Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday urged farmers unions to stop holding frequent protests against the state government, saying that he was the “mittar keeda” of farmers (farmer-friendly insect), and they should seek a meeting with him before launching agitations.
Addressing farmers during the inauguration of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Kisan Mela, Mann said he was not in favour of lodging FIRs against farmers for stubble burning.
“Some farmer union leaders must also be sitting here. Please refrain from holding protests so often. At the end of every protest, you demand a meeting with me. But first you sit on a dharna and then ask for a meeting. So why not ask for a meeting first? I am always there to meet you. I am always there to stand for justified demands of farmers,” Mann said.
Taking the analogy further, he told farmers that they were treating him like an insect they wanted to eliminate with pesticides. “I am your mittar keeda, but instead you keep spraying insecticides on me. You keep burning my effigies. Even science says farmers should not kill insects that are beneficial for their fields. You should be friends with your mittar keeda. But you are killing both friendly and enemy insects with the same spray. This won’t result in any output in your favour,” he said.
The two-day Kisan Mela, one of the region’s largest gatherings of farmers, is organised twice a year on the PAU campus in March and September. With Punjab scheduled to go to the polls in early 2027, Friday’s address was Mann’s last at the farmers’ fair before the end of the AAP government’s current tenure.
‘I am your advocate in Delhi’
Mann also sought to position himself as a representative of Punjab’s farmers at the Centre, saying his experience as a farmer helped him understand their problems.
“I am your advocate in Delhi. That’s because I have been a farmer, I am one of you. I know what it means to get water in turns. I know your pains. I am the one who always fights with Delhi to get cash credit limit (CCL) in time so that our farmers get instant cash payments during procurement,” he said.
He claimed that canal water utilisation for irrigation had increased from 22% in March 2022 to 88% after his government laid 14,000 km of pipelines up to tail-end villages. Farmers are getting red-coloured nutrient-rich water for their crops.
Mann also referred to a Centre report, claiming that groundwater levels had risen in some parts of Punjab because, according to him, the state government understood the importance of conserving water.
Punjab has no spare water to share: CM
On the contentious issue of water-sharing with Haryana and other states, Mann said Punjab would give other states only their “rightful share” and that water would be released after proper measurement.
“Now, we are giving water to Haryana after proper and exact measurements. It is our water. Previous governments in Punjab gave unlimited water to other states without caring for their own people,” he said.
Attacks Centre over stubble-burning issue
With paddy harvesting season approaching, Mann also took aim at the Centre over the recurring controversy surrounding stubble burning and air pollution.
He said Punjab farmers were once again likely to face allegations of contributing to air pollution in Delhi and even Lahore.
Mann said he had told the Centre that the solution to stubble burning was to provide cash incentives to farmers rather than rely on FIRs or satellite surveillance.
At the same time, the CM said the Punjab government had no intention of registering FIRs against farmers for stubble burning during the coming paddy season.
“We have no such intention, so please manage your stubble accordingly so that we do not reach such a situation,” he told farmers.
He said the state had tied up with firms from Germany and other countries to explore the use of paddy straw in gas plants and promote crop diversification.
