courtesY  ht nov 20

Show magnanimity: Capt to Centre
Likely to call farmers for talks, says it is joint responsibility of state, central govts to provide conducive environment for resolving crisis

HT Correspondent

letterschd@hindustantimes.com

Chandigarh : As Punjab farmers are adamant on not allowing passenger train movements through the state, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday urged the Centre to show magnanimity and not link the restoration of freight train service with that of the passenger ones.

Amarinder said that it was the joint responsibility of the state and the central governments to provide a conducive environment for resolving the current crisis resulting from suspension of train services.

The CM said he intended to hold discussions with the farmers’ representatives and also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah on the issue, according to an official release.

The CM’s statement came a day after the farmer unions held a meeting and decided against lifting the blockade on passenger trains.

Amarinder said the issue was resulting in massive losses to the state exchequer every day, while causing irrevocable damage to industry and agriculture. The CM said he would urge both sides to take proactive steps to find an amicable solution to the problem.

Amarinder said the situation needed to be resolved urgently, requesting the central government to show generosity in the matter in the light of the farmers’ decision to consider lifting blockade of passenger trains too, once freight services are resumed in Punjab.

At the same time, the farmers should also ease their blockade of passenger trains to enable the state government, which had extended its full support in their fight against the farm laws, to restore normalcy, he added.

Neither Punjab nor the nation could afford to allow the situation to continue indefinitely in this manner, he stressed, pointing to the crores of rupees in losses being suffered by the industry and economy in the state.