Cong MP asks Punjab govt to give bonus on paddy

Chandigarh, Nov 26 (UNI) Senior Punjab Congress MP Rana Gurjeet Singh today asked the Badal government to announce an additional bonus of Rs 50 per quintal on paddy on the pattern of the bonus announced by Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

In a statement issued here today, the Congress leader said the Centre had fixed Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 850 per quintal on common variety of paddy this year. But later, in response to demand from farmers across the country and various state governments for increasing the MSP, the Centre announced a bonus of Rs 50 per quintal as incentive on the procurement of paddy, thus taking the MSP to Rs 900 per quintal.

The state governments in Bihar, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh announced an additional bonus of Rs 50 per quintal from the state coffers, thus taking the MSP for paddy in these states to Rs 950 per quintal.

Mr Singh said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had always tried to project himself as a messiah of farmers but it was surprising that he had failed to protect their interests and has not announced an additional bonus for paddy.

The Badal government has been discriminating against Punjab's farmers who are toiling day and night to provide food security to the nation, he said. The failure of the government to provide additional bonus to the farmers had forced several Kisan Unions to come out on the roads and resort to Rail Roko agitations, he added.

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