SAD-BJP led Punjab Government’s decision of pruning mismatch in food grains stock is growing into a major controversy with the opposition parties attempting to reap the situation.
While the Congress party has decided to move the court against the move, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged he “nexus of Centre-State for foodgrain theft”.
Punjab Government has reportedly decided to borrow Rs 31,000 crore from the banks and repay the same in 20 years. The move, also having the approval of the State Cabinet, was aimed at resolving the controversy raised after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had pointed at foodgrains stock mismatch.
RBI, in April this year, had asked the banks to classify Rs 12,000 crore given to the State for buying foodgrains as “bad” loan indicating at the misuse of money. It had also stopped release of Rs 20,000 crore cash credit limit (CCl) to the State for wheat procurement.
Rejecting the Punjab Government’s move to convert an alleged misappropriation of Rs 31,000 crore into a loan, Congress party announced that it has decided to approach the court to scuttle the move.
Reacting to the “admission made by the state government about missing food grains to the tune of Rs 31,000 crore”, Punjab Congress vice president and chief spokesperson Sunil Jakhar said: “You cannot convert a theft into a loan and put the liability on the people of the state for another 20 years.”
Jakhar, who has been vigorously raising the issue of the missing food grains for quite some time, pointed out that the RBI and the consortium of 33 banks had earlier refused to provide the Cash Credit limit (CCl) guarantee to Punjab over earlier this year.
“Instead of putting the liability on the people of the state, responsibility must be fixed and the theft amount recovered from the personal properties of those responsible. Why should people of the state, who are already burdened with over Rs 1.25 lakh crore debt, bear the liability of the theft committed by few people in powerIJ” he asked.
“Come what may, the Congress party will not allow it. You cannot condone a massive scandal of such humongous proportion by an executive order. The Congress party will use all the legal and constitutional means to ensure that not only are the real culprits punished, but also made to repay the money they have defrauded people of, from their personal accounts,” he asserted. Jakhar said that the truth had finally come out and the state government had to eventually admit to the fraud despite the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre “desperately trying” to shield the state government “under the patronage of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley”.
He said that given the nature of irrefutable evidence, corroborated by the Comptroller and Auditor General also, which pointed out to use of “ghost trucks” bearing registration numbers which later turned out to be of the two-wheelers, the state government had no way but to admit to the fraud.
Badal, who had in June this year, refuted allegations regarding any misappropriation in the CCl, had earlier also maintained that all accounts regarding it CCl “were crystal clear as state government merely purchased the food grains for the Union Government. There were no irregularities in this entire operation”.
Following the RBI action, Badal had sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “personal intervention” for early resolution of the CCl issue. Following this, the RBI had released the CCl.
The gap in the procurement payment and actual stocks happened mainly during the rule of the Akali Dal-BJP alliance government, which is in power in Punjab since 2007.
KAIRON SHOUlD TENDER HIS RESIGNATION: CHANNI
Congress legislature Party (ClP) leader Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday said that after confessing food grains scam, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should also have the moral courage to name the beneficiaries, even if they are his family members.
Channi also asked the state Food and Civil Supplies Minister, also Badal’s son-in-law Adesh Partap Kairon to tender his resignation owning moral responsibility for the alleged scam.
“Badal has been denying this biggest ever scam in Punjab after it was exposed last year as the Centre refused to release money for procurement operations. The Centre relented as the issue concerned food security,” said Channi.
Stating that Badal government has accepted the scandal by opting for marketing borrowings totalling Rs 31,000 crore to reimburse Rs 26,000 crore to the Centre, channi said that it was the right of the people to know as to who are the biggies who have made such big bucks.
“This money has been transferred by the Centre to Punjab for foodgrains procurement operations…Heads must roll as the culprits involved in this mega-scam can’t be allowed to go scot free. In case Badal shows any laxity in arresting the culprits, it would reflect upon him too as he himself would come under the shadow during his record fifth term as the Chief Minister,” he said.
Channi assured the people that the Congress, after coming into power during February 2017 elections, would mark a comprehensive probe into blatant corruption prevailing in the Badal government and now no other proof was needed after admission of the foodgrains scam by raising loan to repay the amount to the centre that was extended to the state as cash-credit limit.
INDICATES CENTRE-STATE NEXUS FOR FOODGRAIN THEFT: AAP
Terming the offer of soft loan to Punjab Government and latter’s accepting to take loan in lieu of embezzlement of foodgrains as “cover up” exercise by both the Centre and the State governments to hide “loot” by Akalis, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday said that the Central Government should come clean on the issue and clarify what action it has taken in the multi-crore scam.
AAP’s Punjab Convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich said that taking Rs 31,000 crore loan for next 20 years indicates that SAD-BJP have already smelled their humiliating defeat in the upcoming assembly elections and were trying to ‘loot’ the state at the last leg of their tenure by pushing the burden of their huge loot” to the state exchequer.
“What action Centre took against the Punjab Government for embezzlement of food stock worth multi-croreIJ Under what condition the CCl was given to Punjab Government for procurementIJ Isn’t offering and accepting the loan request by Akalis to cover-up food scam indicates nexus of Centre-State in the food grain scam”, he quipped.
He said that Badal’s bid to take the loan itself shows that “thief as accepted the theft” and the law enforcement agency (Centre) is giving an offer to “thief” to settle the score by paying equal amount of the theft to get bail.