Punjag govt failed to compensate cotton growers for crop loss: AAP

Chandigarh: AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Friday accused Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi of indulging in just photo opportunities, saying his government failed to compensate the farmers whose cotton crop was destroyed due to a pest attack. "Channi believes in lights, camera, but no action, he said. Reacting to the AAP's leader's remarks, Channi exhorted the cotton growers "not to be misled by false propaganda unleashed by the opposition parties".

Channi in a statement said the state government has interests of farmers at its heart and protecting them is an article of faith for the government.

Cotton crop on more than one lakh hectares was destroyed due to the pest attack, Chadha told reporters here.

Chadha said Channi had nearly a month ago met the affected farmers in Bathinda region and promised them that the state government would compensate them for the damage caused to the cotton crop due to the pest attack.

"During his visit, he told farmers at Kartar Singh Wala village that the government will compensate those who suffered crop loss on account of the pest attack but a month has passed now, no farmer has got compensation," he claimed.

The chief minister did not honour his promise made to the farmers with whom he got pictures clicked, which were later used by the government for publicity purposes across the state to give an impression that the present dispensation was farmer-friendly, the AAP leader alleged.

During the AAP leader's press conference, Chadha repeatedly referred to Channi as a dramebaaz chief minister who only likes the camera glare and the limelight without delivering on ground.

Dramebaaz CM got himself photographed with a farmer, Balwinder Singh Khalsa. He advertised this photo throughout Punjab but even Khalsa did not get any compensation.

Another hoarding put up across the state on bus shelters, in buses shows a picture of farmer Harpreet Singh. His crop was also damaged but no compensation was paid to him too. Both these farmers, like several others, feel cheated and used, he said.

The chief minister is only using photos clicked with affected farmers from Punjab to garner votes.