Farmer suicides national issue: Sukhbir Singh Badal

BATHINDA: Shiromani Akali Dal president and Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said here on Wednesday that farmers' suicides are a national issue and the Centre should find a solution to this.

Sukhbir said the Union government needed to frame policies in such a way that this situation is not allowed to arise. He said all the powers to chalk out policies to check farmers' suicides are with the Union government and the states have very limited say in it. Punjab along with Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have been witnessing a spate of farmers' suicides after rains damaged crops.

Sukhbir said, "I will soon call on Union home minister Rajnath Singh and impress him upon to initiate measures like pension scheme for aged farmers. As the right to frame policies over issues of national importance lies with the Union government the states have only a 10% say in these policies," he said.

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