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Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann slams state Congress chief Warring for ‘misleading’ people over paddy MSP
In a statement here, Mann called Warring a “chronic liar” and slammed him for misleading the people with his “erroneous, malafide and mendacious statements”
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday hit out at Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring for allegedly ‘misleading’ people with his statement that the state advocate general appealed to the Supreme Court to end the minimum support price on paddy.
In a statement here, Mann called Warring a “chronic liar” and slammed him for misleading the people with his “erroneous, malafide and mendacious statements”. He claimed Warring is trying to hoodwink the facts just to score brownie points before the media. The state government had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court to secure the interests of the state, he said. The chief minister hit back after Warring, in a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), claimed that the state advocate general has appealed to the Supreme Court to end MSP on paddy. Punjab is being trapped under a deep conspiracy, the Punjab Congress chief alleged, asking the CM if he was protecting the rights of Punjab this way.
Citing the affidavit, Mann said the state government has submitted that the incentives by the Central government over the past 40 years had led to the adoption of the cultivation of paddy in the state which is providing remunerative pricing under minimum support price. The government further submitted that in order to divert and diversify cropping patterns from paddy to other crops, assured minimum support price and other incentives will have to be provided to the farmers to make it viable for them to adopt other crops, Mann said. He said a sustainable campaign will be required to change the behavioural patterns of the farmers.
The CM also said Warring is quoting some affidavit from his ‘whims and fancies’, which reflects the Congress leader’s ‘non-serious attitude’. In response to Mann’s statement, Warring, in another post, said he was talking about what the AG stated before the court, not the affidavit of the state government.
Punjab AG Gurminder Singh also called Warring’s statement ‘a lie’ and said he had suggested to the apex court that the Centre should give minimum support price on other crops as well so that farmers have a choice of diversifying, according to news agency PTI. Punjab AG Singh said, “We have said that along with paddy, the Centre should give MSP on other crops also so that farmers have a choice of diversifying.” The AG said he also suggested to the SC that crop residue management machinery may be given to farmers free of cost with the support of Punjab (25%) and Delhi (25%) governments and the Centre (50%).
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Thursday accused the AAP government of betraying the farmers on the issue of MSP. In a statement issued here, Majithia said the stand of the state government in Supreme Court on the issue of stubble burning has shocked Punjabis. “The state government has advocated discontinuing MSP on paddy, the former minister claimed, accusing it of also repeatedly betraying the farmers on compensation for successive crop loss during last one-and-a-half years.
