CHANDIGARH: Leader of Opposition S. Partap Singh Bajwa launched a scathing attack on both the Modi-led Centre and the Mann-led Punjab government for abandoning Punjab’s annadatas in their darkest hour.
“What we are witnessing today is a complete collapse of governance, ” Bajwa said. “Punjab’s farmers have lost their entire season’s livelihood, yet they are being offered just ₹6, 750 per acre for partial loss — less than 10% of the real earnings. One acre of paddy yields over ₹70, 000, but this so-called compensation is nothing more than an eyewash.”
Punjab, Bajwa reminded, is reeling under its worst floods in nearly four decades. In just one week, 1, 018 villages across 14 districts have been ravaged, and over 3 lakh acres of farmland destroyed. “For our farmers, this devastation is not just about numbers — it is the collapse of livelihoods, homes, and security, ” he said.
Bajwa explained why Punjab had stayed out of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) since 2017. “We objected because the scheme assessed losses at the village level instead of individual fields, imposed extra premium burdens, and delivered compensation after long delays. The only beneficiaries were insurance companies, not farmers, ” he said.
“The PMFBY is deeply flawed. Why has Punjab not been given a fair, farmer-friendly insurance model? This negligence has left our annadatas completely exposed to disaster after disaster, ” Bajwa charged.
He further lashed out at the AAP government: “Bhagwant Mann had ample time to create a state-level insurance fund or strengthen flood-protection infrastructure. Instead, he wasted time on hollow publicity campaigns. Today, our farmers are paying the price of his negligence.”
Holding the Centre equally responsible, Bajwa said: “At a time when Punjab needed the Centre’s support the most, the Prime Minister has not announced even a single rupee of relief. Nor has he shown the will to reform and extend PMFBY in a way that suits Punjab’s realities. This is nothing short of criminal neglect of the very annadatas who feed the nation.”
Bajwa demanded that the Centre and State act immediately by extending a reformed PMFBY to Punjab with plot-level coverage and speedy payouts, creating a state-level insurance fund, expanding insurance to cover crops, livestock, and farmer health, while also investing in early warning systems, embankments, and desilting so that farmers get relief that is fast, fair, and future-proof. “Unless PMFBY is reformed and extended, and unless Punjab establishes its own robust insurance mechanism, our farmers will continue to drown in despair every time nature strikes, ” Bajwa warned. “Both Modi and Mann must be held answerable for this betrayal of Punjab’s annadatas.”