Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Pledges New Agriculture Policy After Stakeholder Discussions

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Pledges New Agriculture Policy After Stakeholder Discussions

On the last day of the session of the Vidhan Sabha, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann responded to many criticisms thrown up by the political opponents inside the House and farmer unions outside it.

He spoke on the belated agriculture policy rollout, postponed the panchayat election, and delayed investigations in the 2015 sacrilege cases.

Mann informed the House that a draft agriculture policy, ambitious in scope to transform the agrarian economy, was prepared, but it would not be thrust upon stakeholders unless all of them had been consulted.

On the eve of the budget session, he talked about his party’s agenda—differences with the BJP—while underscoring he did not want to push policies without consensus the way the latter had tried to do during the stormy passage of three controversial 2020 farm laws.

It was also intriguingly conspicuous that the Congress leaders remained silent during Mann’s address, perhaps out of the expected alliance between Congress and AAP in the forthcoming Haryana Assembly elections. The unscheduled speech of the Chief Minister saw several crucial bills being presented by his ministers.

On the delay in holding civic elections and prosecuting those involved in the sacrilege cases, opposition criticism reached Mann, who told the assembly that after the Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections, the civic polls would be held.

He promised to have free and fair elections without the use of party symbols, though the candidates may still display pictures of their leaders.

On the DAP fertilizer crisis, Mann dismissed the statements of the Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar and said that he had direct dialogue with Union Minister JP Nadda to get the requisite amount of the said fertilizer.

NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal supplemented this by saying that with the recent assurance by the Center, the DAP shipment has already started to begin its entry in the state.

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During the session, four major bills passed:

• Punjab Goods and Service Tax (Amendment) Bill: Exempts additional neutral alcohol used for the manufacture of liquor from GST.
• Punjab Fire and Emergency Service Bill: Amends the physical test norms of women in the Fire Safety Department.
• Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill: Bars panch and sarpanch candidates from contesting on party symbols.
• Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Amendment Bill: Provides for the extension of the reconstitution of 94 market committees.