Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Lok Sabha MP from Sangrur, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, raised the farmers' issue in Parliament on Monday and questioned the Central Government about the promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to double farmers' income by 2022. He said the BJP government owes an explanation to the country on this matter.
Meet Hayer pointed out that since the BJP came to power in 2014, 11 budgets have been presented, yet none have mentioned increasing farmers' income. He further said that while repealing the farm laws, Prime Minister Modi promised farmers an MSP guarantee, but that promise has also not been fulfilled to date. During the farmers' movement, over 750 farmers were martyred, yet justice has not been delivered to them.
Punjab’s farmers have been sitting at the Haryana border for nearly a year, demanding the implementation of MSP, but they are not being allowed to reach Delhi. The Haryana-Punjab border has been turned into something akin to the Pakistan border. He said that over the past ten years, more than ₹10 lakh crore in loans of industrialists have been waived, but not a penny of farmers' loans.
He added that Punjab's farmers have depleted their land and water resources to fill the nation’s granaries, but today they are being barred from voicing their concerns in the national capital, Delhi. He called on the Central Government to stop oppressing farmers and accept their demands by enacting the MSP Guarantee Law.
Meet Hayer also mentioned Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite hunger strike at the Punjab-Haryana border. He said Dallewal is not fighting for personal gain but for the welfare of the farmers across the nation and has been on hunger strike for 21 days. "We are concerned about his health, and the Central Government should also take this matter seriously," he said.
Hayer pointed out that the Central Government has told farmers they cannot bring tractors and trolleys, and they complied. The government said they cannot come in large numbers, so they planned for only 100 farmers to go to Delhi, yet the government still refuses to let them through. "When the farmers are willing to adhere to all government conditions, the government should also respect their demands," he said.
In his speech, Meet Hayer also highlighted the dire economic condition of the country's citizens, referencing published data. He said India ranks 141st globally in per capita income. Out of a population of 1.4 billion, only 10% earn more than ₹25,000 per month. Connecting this data to farmers, he said that the remaining 90% of people earning less than ₹25,000 per month mostly comprise farmers and laborers.
Hayer reminded Parliament of Punjab's sacrifices for India's independence, saying the state has contributed the most. Today, almost every village in Punjab has statues of martyred soldiers. After independence, Punjab's farmers made the country self-reliant in grain production. He recalled how, during earlier years, citizens were asked to fast one day a week so the nation would not have to depend on other countries for food. Punjab's farmers sacrificed everything to solve this problem. Therefore, before mistreating farmers, the Central Government must revisit history.