Chandigarh, Sep 18 (UNI) Accusing the NDA Government of violating the federal structure of Constitution by passing bills on items reserved on the State List, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Friday said that Punjab alone would suffer a loss of Rs 4000 crore every year that will lead to the mass destruction of rural livelihoods, increasing farmer distress and pauperization.
Addressing the media at Bathinda on Friday, the Minister stated that the NDA government is shying away from issuing a categorical assurance to the Indian farmers that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will remain intact. “Why is the Union Government hesitating in announcing that unlimited and uninterrupted MSP will continue?”, Manpreet Singh Badal asked.
Agriculture falls in the state list of subjects, said he, adding that the Union Government’s action impinges on the state’s rights. This is not the first time the NDA Government has harmed the rights of the states.