A day after he resigned as the chief minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh on Sunday said he was sad that he would not hand over appointment letters to the families of 150 farmers ”who had lost their lives” in the ongoing agitation against farm laws even though the government led by him had approved it.
Singh said he was sad that the scheduled event to disburse the appointment letters had to be cancelled and hoped that Charanjit Singh Channi, who the Congress picked on Sunday as the next chief minister, will carry out the task at the earliest to provide relief to the affected families.
According to a statement, Singh urged the CM-designate to ensure that the state government continues to stand with the beleaguered farmers of Punjab “who have sacrificed their lives in our collective fight for justice”.
Singh made it clear that he would continue to support the farmers “in their battle for survival and justice”. ”Every Punjabi, in fact every Indian, is morally bound to stand with the farmers in their hour of despair,” he said, asserting that even though he was no longer holding the state’s reins, his heart remained with the farmers and their families and he would do everything in his power to ensure that they get their due.
According to the statement, Singh, whose government had also released over Rs 14 crore as compensation to the next of kin of 298 deceased farmers, said he would not allow the sacrifices of India’s ‘annadaatas’ to go waste.
”It is the responsibility of every government and political dispensation, be it in Punjab or any other state, as well as the Centre, to ensure that the farmers get their due,” he said.
Singh resigned as the chief minister of Punjab with less than five months to go for the Assembly polls after a bruising power struggle with state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, and had said that he felt ”humiliated” over the way the party handled the protracted crisis.
