AAP Protest Against Centre's Foodgrain Procurement Issues
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a protest today against the Central Government over the slow procurement and lifting of foodgrain from mandis.
As AAP leaders attempted to gherao the state BJP office in Chandigarh, the UT police intervened, using water cannons to disperse the crowd. During the chaos, Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains’ turban fell off, escalating tensions.
AAP leaders accused the BJP of spreading rumors to distract from their failures, holding the Centre and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) accountable for the delays in lifting foodgrain.
In attendance were several ministers, including Harbhajan Singh, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Ravjot Singh, Hardeep Singh Mundia, and the party's working president Budh Ram.
Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh emphasized the issue, stating, “Every year in October, paddy arrives at mandis. However, this time, the Centre deliberately didn’t lift the old grain from godowns. Now, the markets are overflowing with paddy. Farmers, traders, sheller owners, and laborers are all distressed, but the Centre is not listening.”
AAP leaders noted that the Punjab Government had been urging the FCI to remove excess stock for the past eight months. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also met with Union Ministers regarding this issue, but without success.
“Our demonstration supports farmers, laborers, traders, and sheller owners, and stands against the Central Government. We will fight for farmers' rights until a solution is found,” Bains declared.
He expressed his deep connection to the issue, stating, “Today I am not here as a minister, an MLA, or a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, but as the son of a farmer from Punjab.” Bains lamented that while people across India celebrate Diwali, farmers in Punjab struggle in the mandis.
“Their fault is that they fought against the BJP government's black agricultural laws,” he added.
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