Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) core committee on Sunday formed a nine-member committee to assist the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in celebrating the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhs’ first master, Guru Nanak Dev, in a befitting manner.
At the same time, the party demanded to immediately sack the Punjab Education Minister OP Soni “for forcefully distributing distorted history books to school children”.
The Core Committee, which met under the chairmanship of party president Sukhbir Badal, also condemned the Congress-led Punjab Government for passing dictates ordering farmers to delay transplantation of paddy by 10 days saying that “this had resulted in higher moisture content and now farmers are suffering in mandis and even being exploited by unscrupulous elements”.
The Core Committee demanded that the farmers be compensated at the rate of Rs 15,000 per acre for the drop in yield due to the faulty decision of the Government to delay transplantation and resultant problems including late sowing of the wheat crop.
It also condemned the government for not announcing an enhanced SAP (State Advised Price) for sugarcane saying that it was hell bent on driving farmers to suicide by refusing to come to their aid in their time of dire crisis.
Asking the Congress Government to increase the SAP by Rs 50 on the pattern of the SAD-BJP Government, it said that SAP of Rs 360 per quintal should be announced immediately.
The Committee also asked the Government to expedite payment of sugarcane dues to farmers and announced that it would hold two dharnas at Gurdaspur on November 26 and Morinda on November 28.