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In solidarity with the families of the two farmers who lost their lives during the ongoing farmer protests against central farm laws, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Sunday handed over the appointment letters of government jobs to the next of their kin.
Channi accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa visited the house of deceased farm labourer Sukhpal Singh (30) at Mandi Kalan village in Bathinda and handed over the appointment letter of a government job to Natha Singh, the elder brother of the deceased, an official statement said.
Sukhpal Singh was indisposed during the farmers’ dharna at Delhi’s Tikri border and underwent treatment at PGIMER where he died on March 31 this year, it said.
Expressing gratitude to the chief minister, Natha Singh said as per the announcement made by the Punjab government, the family had already got financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh, which is being utilised to rebuild their dilapidated house.
The chief minister and the deputy chief minister also handed over an appointment letter to Gurmail Singh of Chauke village in Rampura Tehsil of Bathinda as his only son Jashanpreet Singh (18) had died at Tikri border in January this year, the statement said.
Channi said the state government is committed to help the families in this hour of crisis.
He said, “These farmers/farm labourers had sacrificed their lives during the agitation against the draconian farm laws.”
“It is shameful that due to anti-farmer policies of the Modi government, the hard-working and resilient farmers of the state who have made India self-reliant in food production are on the roads,” the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.
Reiterating his government's “firm commitment” to oppose these “anti-farmer laws”, Channi said these laws will not be implemented in the state.
He said the Punjab assembly has already rejected these laws “because they are primarily aimed at ruining the farmers”.
Channi said his government is of the farmers and it will stand with them in every thick and thin to safeguard their interests at every cost.
The chief minister alleged that due to the apathy of the central government, many precious lives of the food growers have been lost.
Realising the immense contribution of the farmers, the Punjab government had decided to give government jobs to the next of kin of the deceased farmers and this promise is now being fulfilled, he said.
Channi assured the farmers that no stone will be left unturned for their well-being in these difficult times, the statement said.
Meanwhile, the chief minister on Sunday announced that every cotton cultivator who has suffered losses due to the attack of pest pink bollworm will be compensated by the government.
Channi, accompanied by Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, undertook a whirlwind tour of the cotton belt in the Malwa region of the state to assess the loss, the statement said. (With PTI inputs)
