Welcoming the Congress-led Punjab Government’s announcement to cancel or revisit power purchase agreements (PPAs) with private companies, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday asked the Government to clarify why it took more than four years to realise any wrongdoing in the PPAs.
Sukhbir, after addressing a party workers’ meet in Bathinda, told the journalists that the then SAD-BJP Government had signed PPAs to buy electricity for Rs 2.86 per unit which was the cheapest at the time.
“It is for the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to explain the poor planning that led to the chaos this summer. Industrial, domestic, and farms sector are equally disturbed due to poor power availability. PPAs were signed in accordance with the rules framed by the then Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre. The Punjab government had simply worked according to the framework given nationally,” he said.
Sukhbir said that the agreements were signed to meet the state’s power demands, especially during paddy sowing and summer season.
“SAD welcomes any move to terminate lopsided PPAs if they are not beneficial to the State. This year, the Punjab Government purchased power at a price of up to Rs 14 per unit and the Government should explain how much a consumer will have to shell out for power,” he asked.
CONDEMNS GOVT FOR NOT SHARING RECORD OF SC SCHOLARSHIP SCAM WITH CBI
Condemning the Congress Government for not sharing the complete record of the SC Scholarship scam case with the CBI despite an express request by the agency, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal said that this only proved that Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh was continuing to back the corrupt and did not want to provide justice to lakhs of Dalit students whose future had been destroyed by Social Welfare Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot.
Sukhbir, talking to the newsmen about Rs 64 crore SC Scholarship scam after welcoming Congress Sewa Dal state vice-president Balbir Singh, Bathinda (urban) president Suresh Sharma, vice-president Gopal Mehta, Secretary Ravinder Kumar and more than 100 Congress workers into the party fold, said that it was shocking that despite a request from the anti-corruption branch of the CBI’s Chandigarh office, the Government was yet to transfer the entire file regarding the case to the agency.
Condemning the Chief Minister for adopting an anti-Dalit attitude, the SAD president said that Dharamsot should have been sacked immediately after the CBI registered a case against him on the complaint of the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry on June 30.
Dharamsot should not only be dismissed immediately from the Cabinet but a criminal case should be registered against him followed with his arrest, he said.
He said that Punjabis could never forgive Dharamsot for destroying the future of lakhs of Scheduled Caste students. “SAD is committed to ensuring justice in the case and we will ensure that the Minister and all those who embezzled money meant for Dalit students are brought to justice once we form the Government in the State,” he said.