Day after Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh issued stern instructions to the state police chief to deal with the issue of goonda tax, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday asked the Congress government to take concrete action on the ground by registering a case against the perpetrators and arresting them within 24 hours.
At the same time, the party demanded that a sitting judge of the High Court should inquire into the entire matter.
“Congress government should not do lip sympathy on the issue of goonda tax being appropriated from transporters at the Bathinda refinery in the form of JST (Jojo Service Tax), instead take concrete action on the ground by registering a case against the perpetrators and arresting them within 24 hours,” said the former minister Daljit Singh Cheema.
He said that SAD’s stand that goonda tax was being enforced by Congress legislators as well as a relative of Finance Minister Manpreet Badal had been vindicated with fellow cabinet colleagues raising this issue in the cabinet a day before and demanding action against those resorting to such illegal activities.
“Manpreet Badal tried to play the victim card by stating that he was being vilified but this did not cut any ice with a cabinet colleague who reminded him that his relative was stated to be heading the consortium that was collecting protection money from transporters,” he said while adding that the SAD appreciate Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa for setting the record straight and calling a spade a spade.
Cheema said that it is a known fact that people collecting goonda tax call the shots from the Finance Minister’s residence. “The police have failed to take action in the matter despite the fact that it is for the first time in the history of the State that its largest investor – the Bathinda refinery – has gone on record to give evidence about collection of goonda tax. It is a known fact that in Manpreet Badal’s absence, his brother-in-law Jaijeet Singh Johal calls the shots in the constituency,” said Cheema.
He alleged that no local police officer can be expected to take action against him, and in view of these facts, a sitting judge of the high court should inquire into the entire matter. “Only this can restore the morale of the trade and industry in the Malwa region,” he added.