Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday launched a frontal attack on Congress leadership for playing dirty politics to divide agricultural community of Punjab and Haryana by instigating and promoting bilateral disputes between the two States to meet their petty interests.
In a meeting with delegation of farmers from Punjab and Haryana during Sangat Darshan programme here at Punjab Bhawan on Saturday, Sukhbir alleged that Congress Government had spend crores on water disputes and digging canals to seep water out of Punjab but they had never thought of spending half of this money on providing affordable water saving irrigation technologies to farmers.
He said that Congress was well aware of the fact that green revolution would have a negative impact on the groundwater index in both States. Thus, the party used scarcity of water as a tool of conflict between the two States.
Sukhbir said that had the Congress been loyal to the national interests it had provided enough packages to both States to promote drip irrigation like water saving systems. He questioned that if a country like Israel opted such technologies to become self-sufficient in agricultural production than why Congress Governments, which ruled the agro-based nation for 65 years, failed to apply this formula in the country.
He said that answer to this question lies in the intention of Congress party which always preferred ‘divide and rule policy’ at the cost of development of the nation.
Describing Shiromani Akali Dal-Indian National lok Dal alliance as alliance between the people of two States, Deputy CM said that Haryana was all set to vote for INlD-SAD alliance to begin a new chapter of friendship between the two neighbouring States.
He said that combination of the most natural alliance of SAD-BJP and brotherly alliance between two States INlD-SAD would begin a new era of prosperity, development and brotherhood in this region of India. He said that this alliance would also root out Congress from the area between Punjab and Delhi.
On the issue of fixing of Minimum Support Price (MSP) of crops as per the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission, Badal asserted that farmers of Punjab and Haryana were always united on this issue and INlD-SAD alliance has always put this agenda on its priority list.
He said that Congress was well aware of the fact that once farmers of both the States united on one platform it could not be possible for the party to ignore them. Thus it had created divisions between them.
In Sangat Darshan on Saturday, 317 persons came to put their grievances before Deputy Chief Minister. Sukhbir directed the officials of concerned departments to redress these immediately.
He also requested the people not to bring any request regarding transfers and recommendation for recruitment in jobs as Punjab Government was committed to do all recruitments on merit basis.