Chandigarh, Aug 31 (PTI) In a poser to his Punjab counterpart, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday asked what steps his government has taken for the welfare of farmers while listing out the initiatives taken by Haryana.

The remarks by the Haryana CM came after he accused the Congress government in Punjab of fuelling farmers' unrest, prompting a sharp reaction from Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, who trashed Khattar's claims as “as a pathetic attempt to cover up the sustained and persistently shameful treatment meted out to farmers by his government”.

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“Who is anti-farmer, @capt_amarinder ji? Punjab or Haryana?” asked Khattar after highlighting in eight of his tweets various steps taken by his government for farmers' welfare.

“Dear @capt_amarinder ji, Haryana procures 10 crops at MSP--paddy, wheat, mustard, bajra, gram, moong, maize, ground nut, sun flower, cotton--and makes the MSP payment directly into the account of the farmer. How many crops does Punjab buy from the farmer at MSP,” Khattar asked in one of his tweets.

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In a hard-hitting response to Khattar's tweets, Amarinder Singh while spelling out "several initiatives" taken by Congress government in a statement rebutted the “atrocious assertions of the Haryana CM that his government had done more for the farmers than the Punjab government”.

Amarinder Singh asked Khattar, “If that is the case, then why are your own state's farmers angry with you and your Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)?”

Khattar, in one of his tweets, also said that Haryana has been paying the highest MSP in the country for sugarcane to its farmers for the past seven years.

“Why has Punjab felt the need to match Haryana only after an agitation by farmers,” he asked.

Amarinder Singh in a response pointed out that his government not only matched but exceeded the Haryana's MSP and Punjab was now at the top of table amongst all states by fixing a state assured price of sugarcane at Rs 360 per quintal for 2021-22.

He termed Khattar's claims and questions as "nothing but a shoddy defence against the nation-wide criticism of the latest in the series of violent assaults on peacefully protesting farmers by his government".

Amarinder Singh said various statements made by the Haryana chief minister in the wake of the brutal lathicharge on his own state's farmers had once again utterly and unequivocally exposed the BJP's anti-farmer mindset.

Instead of apologising for the unprovoked and unjustified attack on the farmers, “Khattar had been brazenly defending the police action and even tried to vindicate the Karnal SDM's shocking instructions to the cops, which the world had seen and condemned,” said the Punjab CM.

Having failed to convince the people of India that it was Punjab and its farmers who were responsible for the prolonged agitation against the farm laws at the Delhi borders, Khattar is now resorting to blatant lies and exaggerated claims, Amarinder Singh alleged, adding that “indulging in this petty data crunching will not condone Haryana government's excesses against farmers”.

Khattar on Monday had accused the Congress government in Punjab of fuelling farmers' unrest in his state, prompting a sharp response from Singh.

The exchange had taken place two days after farmers protesting over agriculture laws enacted by the Centre clashed with the Haryana Police in Karnal.

Later, Khattar, in a series of tweets, had mentioned several welfare measures of his government for farmers.

Khattar also said that Haryana pays 12 per cent interest to farmers in case payment is delayed beyond 72 hours from the approval and asked if Punjab pays interest on delayed payment.

However, ridiculing Khattar's assertion, the Punjab CM said in sharp contrast to Haryana, farmers in Punjab are getting their payment directly into their accounts within 72 hours, eliminating the need to pay interest.

“It is your government's shoddy management of the whole procurement process and your typical apathetic attitude towards the farmers which causes the payment delay in the first place,” Amarinder Singh quipped in response to Khattar.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)