Surjewala slams BJP-JJP govt in Haryana for imposing curbs on paddy cultivation

The Congress leaders claimed that it will deprive farmers from cultivating the crop in about 4.5 lakh acres of land and demanded immediate withdrawal of the order.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Friday slammed the BJP-JJP government in Haryana for imposing curbs on paddy cultivation in the state and claimed that it will deprive farmers from cultivating the crop in about 4.5 lakh acres of land.

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Surjewala, who along with three other party leaders staged a protest at Kurukshetra’s Shahbad, demanded immediate withdrawal of the order under which farmers have been asked to diversify at least 50% of their last-year cultivated paddy area by growing alternate crops in eight blocks of the state including Ratia, Siwan, Pipli, Shahbad, Babain, Ismailabad, Guhla and Sirsa.

“How can you prevent farmers from cultivating paddy on their own land and threaten to punish them by denying MSP for paddy and other due benefits in case they still choose to grow this crop,” he said.

Surjewala said the Khattar-Chautala government is punishing farmers of northern Haryana in guise of the ‘Jal Hi Jeevan Hai’ scheme. “The BJP-JJP government’s order to ban paddy cultivation in several blocks of the state is not acceptable to the farmers,” he added.

He said all ministers, MP and MLAs should oppose the order of the state government and if they cannot protect farmers, rice millers and traders, then they have lost the moral right as people’s representative and should tender their resignation.

Surjewala alleged that the crop diversification scheme by the Khattar government was a conspiracy to eventually stop the procurement of paddy at Minimum Support Price (MSP) by discouraging a large number of farmers from cultivating the crop.