Centre must pay more attention to border state Punjab: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday warned the central government that the farmers in Punjab were restless and that the country had paid a "heavy price" whenever the northern state was restless.
The farmers of Punjab provide food security to the nation as well as guard the borders, and hence it is a "national need" that the Centre pay more attention to them, Pawar, a former union agriculture and defence minister, said, while accusing the government of not being sensitive enough to their issues.

"The farmer in Punjab is very restless, it is a border state and most of the farmers in the state are restless, and if you make them restless then there are repercussions. The country has paid the price for a disturbed Punjab. (We had to) pay the costs with the death of Indira Gandhi," said Pawar.

Pawar alleged that minister of state for home Ajay Mishra, whose son was accused of running down farmers in UP, had not resigned as power had gone to "some people's head".

The NCP chief refused to speak against the government on the issue of the BSF being given more territorial jurisdiction.

"I am not aware of the issue, since I have served as the defence minister and this concerns national security, I would first speak to the home minister (Amit Shah) and then I would give an opinion on it," said Pawar.

Pawar accused the BJP-led central government of trying to destabilise the Maharashtra government by using agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, CBI, income tax department and the Narcotics Control Bureau.