In an apparent support to Punjab local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s campaign against Fastway Cables, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday warned against any censorship by cable distribution companies.
At the same time, Capt Amarinder made it clear that action would be taken against Fastway or any other organisation indulging in such activity.
Reiterating his promise of a level playing field for all, Capt Amarinder said that while his government would not indulge in political vendetta, it would take strict action against any media or cable organisation found engaged in censorship of any channel or information.
Also lashing out at Akali leader and Union Food Processing Minister Harsmirat Kaur Badal over her statement accusing the Punjab Government of misleading the people over debt waiver, Capt Amarinder said that she “obviously has no clue about what she is talking and trying to befool the people of Punjab”.
She should restrict herself to food processing, which was what she had been entrusted with, he quipped.
On the issue of whitefly infestation of cotton crops, Capt Amarinder pointed out that he had personally visited Mansa and met the affected cotton farmers, who had been impacted by poor quality seeds coupled with bad weather conditions.
“Fields with problems have been isolated and strict monitoring is being done of the situation by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), which is spraying pesticides at its own cost,” he said.
Coming down heavily on the Akalis for ruining state’s farming community during 10 years of their “misrule” with 7,000 farmers having committed suicide in this period, he said: “It is unfortunate that farmers are still committing suicide.”
Chief Minister reassured the farmers that their loans up to Rs two lakh had been waived off by his government and there was no need for them to take the extreme step.
To a question, the Chief Minister said that his government’s campaign against drugs had been highly successful, with over 6,900 dealers and suppliers already in police net. “Huge quantities of drugs including 95 kgs of heroin had been seized...The big players in the trade are being chased by the police and would be arrested soon,” he said adding that many of the so-called big fish in the trade had fled the state.
Capt Amarinder said that as many as 20 major industrial houses, along with countries like China and Russia, had shown interest in investing in the state. “For the first time, the government is organizing a Job Mela at Mohali to provide opportunities of gainful employment to the youth,” he added.
Expressing concern over the depleting water table, the Chief Minister said that he would discuss the issue of water conservation during his visit to Israel next month. Besides drip irrigation, his government was studying Hydroponics and Aeroponics as ways to conserve water, he added.