Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday asked Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to stop indulging in diversionary tactics and explain his failures to the people instead of mouthing lies on the Centre’s agricultural ordinances despite knowing they had nothing to do with MSP (minimum support price).
Requesting the Chief Minister to shun politics on the central agricultural ordinances in the interest of Punjabis, SAD senior leader and former Minister Daljit Singh Cheema said: “Punjabis want answers to Rs 5,600 crore excise revenue losses. They want to know what you have done to recoup the losses which were pointed out by your own colleagues. Why no action has been taken against Congress leaders and distillery owners who are accused of bottling illicit liquor and denying excise duty to the State?” He said that Punjabis also wanted to know why illegal mining of sand was continuing unabated in the State.
“Why the State Government was facilitating the sand mafia by reducing their lease fee and even allowing them to mine sand where clearances had not been given till now,” he asked adding that even in the case of central ration received by the State, the Congress Government had turned a blind eye to diversion of ration to houses of its leaders. Cheema said that there were other issues plaguing the State including denial of dues to sugarcane growers and huge power bills thrust on the common man but the Chief Minister seemed oblivious of these issues and was bent on building a false narrative to cover his failures.
Asking the Chief Minister to tell farmers and Kisan Unions the whole truth, Cheema said: “Isn’t it a fact that you amended the State APMC Act in 2017 to include all provisions contained in Farmers Produce and Trade ordinance like allowing creation of private yards, direct marketing and e-trading?”