DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Haryana Agriculture Minister J P Dalal on Tuesday charged the opposition parties, especially the Congress, with trying to fail the crop procurement process and instigate farmers. The minister said the opposition levelled baseless accusations with Congress leaders claiming that it would take three months to complete the procurement process. "The reality is that the opposition is worried that farmers are giving full support and are satisfied with our policies and schemes. The opposition is feeling frustrated," he said. The state had started the procurement of mustard on April 15 and wheat from April 20. "When the mandis were set up, we said we will procure every single grain of farmers, but the opposition parties, especially the Congress, tried to fail the procurement process and instigate farmers and arhitiyas (commission agents)," the minister told reporters at his residence here. He said this time, the government increased the number of 'mandis' to prevent crowding due to the coronavirus outbreak. Despite the challenges posed by coronavirus and the weather playing truant, farmers and arhitiyas cooperated with the government, he said, adding that so far, six lakh metric tonne of mustard and 63 lakh MT of wheat has been procured. The minister also hit out at the Congress for allegedly misleading farmers on the recently announced 'Mera Pani, Meri Virasat' scheme. The Congress, which is the main opposition, has claimed the crop diversification scheme will deprive a large number of farmers from cultivating paddy. Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja have claimed that their party was not against water conservation efforts of the state government, but they cannot impose any decision on farmers against their will without giving them a viable alternative. On Tuesday, a group of farmers too held a protest in Fatehabad' Ratia against the scheme, claiming that they have no option but to grow paddy as the land in their area was not suitable for other crops like maize and bajra which the government wants them to grow. Dalal asserted that farmers are aware about the environment and are supportive of water conservation efforts being made by the state government. He said many blocks in the state fall in dark zone where water levels have depleted and growing water-guzzling paddy will lead to further depletion. (editor@dailyworld.in)