Amritsar: Farmers in Punjab expressed dissatisfaction over the Union Budget 2025-26, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, saying several of their demands have not been addressed by the Narendra Modi-led government.
Farmer leaders Amarjit Singh Honey and Balkaran Singh Brar said that the Centre increased the subsidised Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loan limit from 3 lakhs to 5 lakhs in this year's budget, but no decision has been taken regarding the remaining demands.
Instead of the loan limit, farmers are being given a Minimum Support Price (MSP) on every crop, how the farmers would pay off the loans, they questioned. They further said that the states that are going to have elections in the coming period have been given gaffes.
Notably, Delhi elections are to be held on February 5, and Bihar elections are scheduled to be held later this year. Amarjit said that since 1967, if inflation and crop growth are kept equal, then the crop procurement rate of farmers' crops has not been increased at all.
Punjab is feeding the entire country today, but they are only worried about selling their crops, and the blow of inflation has broken the back of the farmers, he said.
Neither the Centre nor the Punjab government is taking any steps to resolve the issues of agrarians owing to which farmers are having to adopt the path of farmer agitation, Amarjit added.
