How Centre's tough stand on MSP payment punctured arhtiya's strike in Punjab

While the Punjab government has been insisting that the payment be made through the arhtiyas, the central government had made it clear that no further relaxation will be given to Punjab.

The Punjab government, which was speaking the language of arhtiyas (commission agents who facilitate the transaction between a farmer and actual buyer) till Saturday, has been brought to its knees by the central government's stand on the issue of the MSP payments through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The Punjab government was insisting that the payment be made through the commission agents or arhtiyas, but the Union government had made it clear that no further relaxation will be given to Punjab -- the only state routing the MSP payments through the arhtiya community. Sources said the Union government had threatened not to procure food grains from Punjab in case the government did not transfer the MSP payments directly to the farmers' accounts.