The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday sought Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore’s intervention on the “deteriorating law and order situation”, increasing private school fees and the Government’s alleged failure to address the farmer debt issue in the State.
The party also raised the issue of scams by the chit fund companies in the State like Pearl, Crown, among others.
led by AAP’s legislature party leader and the leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha HS Phoolka, the party delegation comprising 17 of its 20 MlAs met the Governor “to raise the important issues related to the common people of Punjab”.
While Kharar MlA and former journalist Kanwar Sandhu is reported to be ‘out of the country’, its Samana MlA Jagtar Rajla had pressing personal engagements as he had to attend a relative’s cremation.
Bholath MlA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who had quit the party posts of spokesperson and Chief Whip in Vidhan Sabha, preferred to stay away notwithstanding directives to all MlAs to remain present.
Evading the media queries on recent turmoil within the party, Dakha MlA Phoolka maintained that all is well in AAP’s Punjab unit. “It is not a show of unity…the party is united,” he added.
later addressing the media after meeting the Governor, Phoolka said that Punjab’s private schools are charging heavy amount of fees from students not only on the name of annual admission fee but also re-admission fees, books and school uniforms.
Pointing that the schools are flaying the guidelines of the Government and the Court, he said that in Government schools, books and uniforms have not been provided to students especially belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS).
Raising the issue of agrarian crisis, Phoolka said that farmers’ economic condition across the State is in poor health and every day, suicides are being committed by them.
“Congress party, in its election manifesto, promised to provide relief to farmers by waiving off the farmers loan but no relief in any form has been provided to farmers till date. It is the need of the hour to provide immediate relief to farmers by waiving off loans,” he added.
On financial scams by chit fund companies, Dakha MlA said that these companies and their directors had purchased substantiate properties under shell companies and relatives of the directors. “It is the duty of the police to investigate and find such properties which should also be attached and auctioned to refund money to investors,” he demanded.
He said that the Government must ensure that such scams do not take place in future . He demanded that the management of Gian Sagar Institute of Medical Sciences, owners of Pearl Company, should be held responsible for the mess created and trustees should be held responsible for it.
The Government should immediately take over the institute to secure the future of students and properties of trustees should be confiscated, he said.
Phoolka added that the law and order situation in the State is going from bad to worse. “The main reason for deterioration of law and order is that the members of the ruling party are trying to take over the control of illegal trades and goonda tax. Such illegal trades and goonda tax was earlier controlled by the Akali leaders and now instead of stopping the illegal trades and goonda tax, the Congress leaders are taking over control of the same,” he alleged.