Hisar,-Former MP and Congress leader Ranjit Singh Chautala today demanded that the state government should waive farm debt on the pattern of UP, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Addressing a ‘kisan panchayat’ here today, Ranjit , the youngest son of former Deputy PM Devi Lal, alleged that the successive state and Central governments never fulfilled the promises made to the farmers before elections. The incumbent BJP-led NDA government too took a U-turn on its pre-poll promise of implementing the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.

He said only former Deputy PM Devi Lal had framed policies in the interests of farmers, adding that the economic condition of farmers was worse than that of a fruit vendor on the roadside. “If urgent steps are not taken to bail out farmers, the government would have to resort to import of grain. Every manufacturer and producer, barring farmers, fixes the price of his product,” he said and urged the state government to take steps to bring farmers out of the debt trap.

The Congress leader also tried to make a political point while recalling the dominance of Hisar region (‘Hisar ki chaudhar’) in Haryana politics. “The Hisar region comprising Bhiwani, Sirsa and Fatehabad faced discrimination in terms of development once the power centre slipped out of this region. Before 2005, Hisar used to be the centre of power in the state politics,” he said while recalling the names of former Chief Ministers who hailed from Hisar region, including his father Devi Lal, Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal.