Chandigarh– The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today demanded registration of a criminal case against Haryana home minister Anil Vij, the State Director General of Police (DGP) and all other police officers responsible for the murder of Shubhkaran Singh as well as firing on peacefully agitating farmers during the ongoing farmer agitation in the State in the Vidhan Sabha today.
Making this demand, SAD legislator Manpreet Singh Ayali said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government should support the farmers and their demands and ensure their voice is heard instead of being suppressed with tear gas and bullets.
Terming the demands of the farmers as very genuine, Mr Ayali said the farmers deserved a complete loan waiver in view of the high cost of inputs and low minimum support price (msp) given to them for food grains. He said similarly the Swaminathan formula of fixing msp to ensure a fifty per cent profit to farmers over and above the weighted cost of production should also be implemented. He also urged the centre to give legal sanctity to the msp system as per the assurance given to farmers when they lifted their Andolan more than two years ago.
The SAD leader also appealed to the chief minister to order an immediate girdawari to assess the loss caused to standing wheat and potato crops due to hailstorm across several villages in Bathinda district. He said standing crops had been extensively damaged in Chak Attar Singh Wala, Nangarh, Sardargarh, Karamgarh Shattra, Bajak, Virk Khurd, Burj Mehma, Mehma Bhagwana, Mehma Sarkari and Mehma Savai. “The affected farmers should be provided adequate compensation at the earliest”, he added.