AAP in Punjab | Mann under fire

On Diwali eve, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab organised a protest in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit headquarters in capital Chandigarh. The plan was to divert the farmers’ ire towards the BJP-led central government, blaming it for the tardy paddy procurement in the state. The crisis affects nearly a million farmers, with 11.9 million tonnes of paddy languishing at farm gates or in mandis. The situation, described by experts as the worst procurement crisis in three decades and being attributed to “bureaucratic incompetence”, threatens to disrupt the upcoming rabi wheat sowing season as well.