Hindustan Times (Amritsar)

AAP DEMANDS SPL ASSEMBLY SESSION ON FARM SUICIDES

- HT Correspond­ent letterschd@hindustant­imes.com n

BATHINDA:The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has demanded a special session of the Punjab assembly on the issue of farm suicides.

Talking to mediaperso­ns here, leader of Opposition in state assembly HS Phoolka on Sunday said that as many as 56 debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide ever since the Congress government was formed in Punjab.

Phoolka met the family of farmer Sikander Singh in Kot Guru village, who committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree on Friday night, allegedly under stress due to a debt of Rs 3 lakh.

He said the Congress was backtracki­ng on its promise of waiving loans of farmers and was making excuses even as suicides by debt-ridden farmers are being reported regularly. He said four farmers have committed suicide in Kot Guru village in the past about two months.

Phoolka said that keeping in view the gravity of the matter, AAP leaders will meet Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore and state assembly speaker Rana Kanwarpal Singh on Tuesday, demanding special session of the assembly on the issue.

He said the AAP will raise the issue strongly in the assembly. Phoolka also demanded inquiry into the distributi­on of compensati­on to farmers and farm labourers after the loss of cotton crop due to the whitefly attack in 2015. He alleged that the affected farmers and labourers were not given compensati­on while ineligible persons were benefited.

WANTS COPIES OF BILLS TO BE TABLED IN HOUSE IN ADVANCE

CHANDIGARH:: Leader of opposition in Punjab assembly HS Phoolka has sought copies of bills that are going to be tabled in the forthcomin­g session from the speaker. In a letter to the speaker, Phoolka said the member of opposition parties want to study the bills that are going to be tabled and then participat­e in the discussion­s

“In the last Vidhan Sabha session, law officers bill was tabled and passed by the government. But in the absence of copy of the bill, the members of opposition parties were not able to participat­e in the discussion regarding the bill,” he said. Phoolka said as per the rule 115 of the Vidhan Sabha working law, the government is bound to provide the copy of any bill 15 days before it is

 ??  ?? HS Phoolka
HS Phoolka

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