Expressing grave concern over the tragic suicides of debt-ridden farmers in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and state Kissan Wing president Kultar Singh Sandhwan and MLA Baljinder Kaur said that the people were fed up with the policies of the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government, which were causing inconvenience and devastating their homes. They said that the Captain government was not just a government of lies but also a government of negligence. On Sunday, AAP MLA Kultar Sandhwan visited the residence of 50-year-old debt-ridden farmers who allegedly died by suicide after consuming a poisonous substance at Kothe Ramsar near Kotli village in Mukstar. MLA Baljinder Kaur visited the residence of a 48-year-old farmer who also ended his life by allegedly consuming a poisonous substance due to debt, at Akalia village in Mansa district.Also, MLA Jai Kishan Singh Rodi, visited the residence of 42-year-old debt-ridden farmers who allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself with a pole in his fields at village Chak Narial in Hoshiarpur. The leaders met the bereaved family members and expressed condolences. In a joint statement on Sunday, Kultar Sandhwan and Baljinder Kaur slammed Captain Amarinder Singh, stating that his empty promises were culminating in the farmers’ suicides. They said that the farmers were being betrayed and more than 1,500 lives had been lost due to the false promises related to debt-waiver made by the Captain government. The leaders said that how many more deaths the state has to see before Captain responds to this crisis.
The AAP leaders said that the farmers in Muktsar, Hoshiarpur, Mansa and Sangrur districts had ended their lives in the past few days while the Congress leaders were busy in internal feud and blaming each other for the government's failure. “All suicides point towards stress due to debt taken from banks or some private lenders. Though the government was supposed to waive off the farmers’ loans, the farmers’ suicides due to debt remains a ground reality,” they said. Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that Captain Amarinder's false promises were leading to tragic deaths of farmers in the state and this does not seem to affect Captain. "Captain Amarinder had promised in his manifesto that he would waive off all the farm loans and relieve them of their debt. But four-and-a-half years have passed, not a single rupee has been waived off. Waiting for this relief, farmers are now committing suicide in despair,” he said.Baljinder Kaur said that continuous reports were surfacing of farmers committing suicide because of the excessive debt burden on them. She said that these farmers had voted for the Captain government because they had made a big promise of loan waiver but sadly did not deliver. The AAP leaders said that the farmers were on a losing end for the bad faith of state and central government, as one betrayed them with the promise of getting their land back from lenders, while the other was eyeing to snatch it through new laws. They said that the Aam Aadmi Party always stands by the farmers and would fight for their rights.