Questioning the “ultra-secret approach” of the Congress-led Punjab Government regarding its proposed move against the Centre’s farm laws during the special Vidhan Sabha session starting from Monday, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday asked the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to come out with fool proof legislation ensuring the rights of the state’s farmers were secured in perpetuity.
The party made it clear that in case he failed, the Chief Minister would be held personally responsible for failing Punjabis and destroying their future generations.
“Punjabis want definite action which stands legal scrutiny and satisfies farmers, khet mazdoor and arhtiyas. If you (Capt Amarinder) fail to do this, you will be labeled as a traitor,” said the SAD legislature wing in an official statement.
SAD legislature party leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Bikram Singh Majithia, addressing the media, said that the Chief Minister was known for backstabbing Punjabis and there were already apprehensions that he was hand in glove with the Modi government and had purposely not taken all stakeholders into confidence so that no effective step was taken to confound the implementation of the Central agricultural marketing laws in Punjab.
“This ultra-secret approach and the unwillingness to prepare legislation in conjunction with farm organizations and political parties indicate that the Congress Government is playing to the tunes of the Centre and is ready to betray Punjabis. It is increasingly becoming clear that the Chief Minister does not listen to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and that he will move legislation as per directions given to him via the hotline with the Central Government,” said Majithia.
Majithia said that the Chief Minister had strengthened this perception by his “repeated flip flops” on calling a special assembly session and even claiming nothing could be done by the State to negate the Agri laws.
“Now, he has decided to present a proposed legislation without taking all stakeholders as well as political parties into confidence. In case, the Congress Government comes out with a wishy-washy resolution or legislation which does not prevent implementation of the black laws in Punjab, the Chief Minister should be ready to face the wrath of Punjabis who will not stomach this betrayal,” he said.
Warning the Chief Minister not to barter away the Punjab’s interests like he did when he bulldozed the river waters termination Act through assembly in 2004 without due discussion which allowed free flow of water to Haryana, the Akali leaders said that the Chief Minister would be held responsible if his Government did not succeed in safeguarding the interests of the State’s peasantry through appropriate legislation tomorrow.
Dhillon and Majithia also demanded that the two private member Bills, moved by the SAD calling for making the entire State one ‘mandi’ besides reversing the amendments made in the Agriculture Produce Markets Act in 2017, be taken up for legislation at the special session tomorrow besides other steps needed to safeguard the interests of Punjab and Punjabis.
AAP DEMANDS EXTENDING SESSION TO AT LEAST 7 DAYS
Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Punjab unit on Sunday said that keeping in view the significance of the sensitive issue linked to the very existence of peasantry, the special session was too short for the purpose.
“Being the principal opposition party, AAP has been crying hoarse from day one, reiterating its demand seeking extension in the proposed one-day special session to at least seven days to discuss and debate threadbare the disastrous implications of the deadly laws and how to render them in fructuous,” said the memorandum submitted by the party delegation, led by its senior leader and the Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, to Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh.
The memorandum also flagged certain core issues of concern. The delegation also brought to the Speaker’s notice the “undeclared censorship” imposed on electronic and print media covering the special session, saying that citing COVID-19, the media had been virtually kept out of bounds from the assembly press gallery, which was an assault on the freedom of the press.
Through the memorandum, the delegation urged the Speaker to review the decision and allow media persons to cover the crucial session from the designated Vidhan Sabha Press Gallery, demanding live coverage of the entire proceedings of the session in an impartial and transparent manner.
Cheema alleged that barely a few hours were left for the special session to commence, neither the Punjab Government nor the Vidhan Sabha Secretariat had yet informed the principal opposition party (AAP) about the detailed agenda to be put across in the Vidhan Sabha, which smacked of double standards of the government.
He demanded that the details of the proposed agenda, to be brought in to nullify the draconian laws be made known to the Opposition.
Cheema accused the Congress Government of playing a fixed match with the anti-farmer and anti-Punjab Modi Government at the Center, to hide his government’s colossal failings and foibles. He demanded strict action against the Government officials or ministers behind concealing the details of the agenda and not sharing it with the Opposition within the stipulated period before the commencement of the session under the rules.