Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday (January 26, 2025) said the State’s farmers had put in their sweat and toil to make the country self-reliant in food production, but their plight unfortunately continued owing to the Centre’s indifferent attitude towards their demands.
He was addressing a gathering after unfurling the national Tricolour during a function to commemorate the 76th Republic Day in Patiala.
Mr. Mann said that at the time of Independence, when the entire country was rejoicing, Punjab, being the border State, had suffered the brunt of Partition. “Punjab went through the horrors of a violent Partition in which lakhs of Punjabis lost their lives, were rendered homeless, and many more lost their lands and properties. However, in the last more than seven decades since Independence, Punjab had to suffer inexplicable discrimination from the governments at the Centre in the form of regressive and ruinous policies,” he said.
Also read: Punjab farmers postpone ‘Delhi march’ after Centre calls for meeting
Mr. Mann said it was unfortunate that Punjab’s food growers, who had made the country self-reliant in food production, had been forced to agitate on this day, too, adding, “Due to the apathetic attitude of the Central government, the hands that feed the country have to resort to hunger strike to get their demands fulfilled.”
The Chief Minister said that the Centre should accept the demands of the food growers so that they could serve the country well. He said that the plight of farmers, due to the cold shoulder of the Union government, hurt every Indian who believed in constitutional values. “The Centre government should stop the step-motherly treatment towards Punjab and its hard-working people,” he said.
Mr. Mann alleged that the Union government had not released the State’s pending share of the Rural Development Fund, worth ₹5,500 crore, which was an example of the Centre’s indifferent attitude towards Punjab. “It is not in consonance with the federal structure of the country as enshrined in the Constitution of the country. States are not beggars and they should be given their legitimate share of funds by the Centre, instead of (the Centre) harassing them,” Mr. Mann said.
