On Friday, the Congress launched a strong attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing it of swindling Rs 4,000 crore from state farmers during last year’s kharif procurement season. The Opposition party alleged that the money owed to farmers for their paddy crops was misused to fund AAP’s Delhi election campaign.
Raising the issue in the Punjab Assembly, Congress leaders claimed that farmers in several regions, including Majha (Amritsar, Gurdaspur, and Pathankot), were paid less than the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 2,300 per quintal promised to them. Congress leader Tript Rajinder Bajwa stated that farmers received only between Rs 1,700 and Rs 2,100, with the remaining amount being diverted for the Delhi elections.
Minister for New and Renewable Energy Aman Arora strongly rejected the allegations, stating that payments were made directly to the farmers’ accounts. He challenged the Congress to provide evidence of any complaints about the payments. He dismissed the accusations as baseless and politically motivated.
Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa called for a formal investigation into the matter, suggesting the assembly should create a special panel to look into the allegations rather than relying on a departmental inquiry.
In response, Minister Harjot Singh Bains suggested that the Assembly should focus on the issue of the Akal Takht’s supremacy, referring to a recent controversy surrounding the reorganization of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
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