<span style="color: #222222;">Home Ministry today said Punjab farmers have not been blamed over the issue of Bonded Labourers in border villages of the state. It said Ministry has only sought appropriate action against human trafficking syndicates. Home Ministry said a section of media has wrongly reported that the Ministry has written to the Punjab government allegedly levelling grave charges against the farmers of the state. It termed these news reports as misleading saying that they present a distorted and highly editorialized opinion of a simple observation about a socio-economic problem emerging from four sensitive border districts of Punjab over a period of two years.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Ministry stressed that no motive can be ascribed to a letter issued by it to a particular State or States as this is part of routine communication over Law and Order issues. This letter has also been forwarded to Secretary, Labour and Employment Ministry with a request to carry out a sensitization exercise in all states to check the duping of vulnerable victims at the hands of unscrupulous elements.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Home Ministry also said some of the news reports about the letter have juxtaposed in a totally unrelated context to conclude that MHA has framed "grave charges" against the farmers of Punjab and has also connected this with the ongoing farmers' agitation. It said the letter only states that human trafficking syndicates hire such labourers and they are exploited, paid poorly and meted out inhuman treatment.</span><br />