Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday vowed not to spare anyone found guilty for the Bargari carnage, whether a politician or a police officer, irrespective of their position or high office.
Lashing out at the Akalis for failing to bring culprits to book and not accepting recommendations of its own Commission set up to probe the incident, Capt Amarinder said that the investigations of SIT (special investigation team) set up by his government would reach their logical conclusion soon.
“I would personally ensure that nobody found responsible for the horrendous incident is allowed to go free,” he said.
Pointing out that one senior police officer implicated in the case had already been arrested, the Chief Minister said that it was obvious that the officer in question must have been following orders, and the SIT would identify those who issued the orders. They will not be spared at any cost, he declared.
The Chief Minister, who was here to disburse Rs 97 crore as relief to 18,308 small farmers from Bathinda and Mansa districts against debt from cooperative banks, personally handed over debt relief certificates to 10 farmers each from the two districts as a token of the disbursement.
Capt Amarinder lambasted the previous SAD-BJP government for ruining everything, from agriculture to industry and economy, during its 10-year misrule. “The Badals and their cronies were busy filling their own pockets, at the cost of the people’s welfare,” he said adding that the Congress Government had reversed the trend with 300 steel factories revived in Fatehgarh Sahib alone.
He also flayed the erstwhile government saying that while his government had not discriminated in giving loan waiver or allocating development funds, the Akalis had behaved in a partisan manner to neglect the development of his ancestral village, Mehraj and Patiala.
On the issue of farmers’ problems, the Chief Minister lamented that the Centre had failed to come to their rescue despite his repeated pleas, and promised to continue with the farm loan waiver with the landless labourers also to be covered under a new scheme that the government was working on.
The debt waiver scheme of his government, however, was just a small relief to the poor farmers in distress but till they get the right price for their produce, their woes would continue, he said reiterated his demand for in toto implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report.
Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, addressing the gathering, lashed out at SAD president Sukhbir Badal for his statements that Punjab had witnessed no development under the incumbent Congress government.
“Capt Amarinder had ensured exemplary development in the state, besides eliminating red-tapism and loot of the state’s assets, which was rampant under Akali rule,” he said.
The Minister asked the Deputy Commissioners to reconsider the cases of eligible beneficiaries who were left out in getting debt waiver relief due to some technical reasons. He also urged the Chief Minister to issue directions for a survey on the farmer suicides in Malwa region as this was very high as comparative to Doaba and Majha.
Power Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar announced that the Punjab Government would soon amend rules to ensure that weaker sections of the society continue to get free power up to 250 units per month and are charged only for any consumption over and above it.
“The Cabinet would be meeting soon to take a formal decision on this,” he said.