Congress fully prepared even if elections are held today, says Bhupinder Singh Hooda

hisar: Former chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said that though elections are still far away, the Congress is fully prepared and will register a resounding win, even if elections are held today.

Addressing a press conference in Hisar on Sunday, Hooda said Congress will defeat the BJP-JJP because the people of Haryana are eagerly waiting for the elections and have made up their mind to vote out the BJP-JJP alliance and form the Congress government.

Hooda, who was in Hisar to participate in various social programmes and has been visiting mandis continuously, told reporters that the claims made by the government for payment within 72 hours, MSP to farmers and compensation for damages are nowhere visible on the ground. “From Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal to Kurukshetra, I have talked to the farmers by going to many mandis. Mustard farmers had to sell their crop at Rs 500-1,000 per quintal below MSP. Why didn’t the government, which cheated Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana, compensate the losses of mustard farmers,” he questioned.

“Like mustard, wheat farmers are also facing problems. Earlier, the farmers are facing problems because the portal was not running, but now they are being hit by the imposition of value cut, luster loss and non-uptake. The arrival of wheat in the mandis is in full swing but the process of lifting the grain is going on at a snail’s pace,” he said.

Hooda said that it is unfair for the government to impose value cut in the name of luster loss, because the farmers have no control over the weather.

“Therefore, instead of writing letters, the government should clearly bear the cost of the value cut itself and give a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal to the farmers to compensate for the loss. The delay in giving compensation is also fatal for the farmers. They should be given compensation ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 per acre,” he demanded.