A delegation of the opposition SAD-BJP on Friday met Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore and urged him to direct the Congress Government to implement a complete Rs 90,000 crore farm loan waiver for all farmers and ensure loans of farm laborers and dalits are also waived off.
The delegation also requested the Governor to ask the State Government to get all sacrilege cases occurring during the previous SAD-BJP Government as well as the present Congress tenure inquired by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. The delegation also urged the Governor to direct the Government to register a criminal case against the Sanaur leader Harinderpal Mann for instigating Congress workers to murder their Akali counterparts.
The joint delegation, which was headed by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and BJP State president Vijay Sampla, briefed the Governor about the manner in which the Congress Government had not honoured its commitment to implement a complete loan waiver.
It brought the promise of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to the notice of Badnore that all loans taken from banks and private money lenders would be waived off and even submitted the video recording to him. It said besides ensuring a complete loan waiver the Governor should also enjoin the government to waive of all loans of farm labourers and the dalit community also.
The SAD president said only a limited loan of a few per cent of the indebted farmers was being considered for waiver despite Cabinet decisions and even an assurance by the Chief Minister in the Vidhan Sabha that the complete loan would be waived. He said small farmers who had incurred a loan of more than Rs 2 lakh had been kept out of its ambit and even marginal farmers with 2.5 acres of land were virtually kept out of the scheme.
In a separate memorandum, the SAD -BJP delegation also urged the Governor to ask the Congress Government to set up an inquiry headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to go into all cases of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib during the tenure of the and both the SAD-BJP Government present regime headed by Captain Amarinder Singh.
The memorandum said this inquiry was being presently done by a Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh who had always worked to further the interests of the Congress party and had always discriminated against the SAD. It said the of level and collusion between the Commission the Government was such that even before it had submitted its report, its contents had been prejudged by both the Chief Minister as well as PCC president Sunil Jakhar.
It said the inquiry into incidents of alleged false cases registered during SAD-BJP tenure, which was being done by known Congressman Justice (retd) Mehtab Singh Gill who had even sublet his house to the Congress party during the Moga byelection in February 2013, should also be handed over to a sitting judge of the apex court.
The delegation members also urged the Governor to ask the Punjab Government to register a criminal case against Sanaur Congress leader Harinderpal Singh Mann and withdraw assent given to appoint him as member of the Syndicate of Punjabi University, Patiala. It said Mann had instigated Congressmen to murder their Akali counterparts during a public function by stating that he would distribute 'kirpans' for the same. The delegation said such a person could not be entrusted with a responsible position in the Punjabi University and should be removed forthwith.