A resolution to this effect was passed at a meeting of the core committee which was presided over by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal. (Express)
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday demanded that the Punjab government “compensate farmers to the tune of Rs 3,000 per acre for the extra cost which will be incurred by them in transplanting paddy”, and demanding that it “take on the responsibility of all power, water and sewerage bills levied during the lockdown period and pay the same to the utilities from the disaster management fund”.
A resolution to this effect was passed at a meeting of the core committee which was presided over by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal. The committee took into account “the crisis in the farming sector due to unavailability of labour, due to which farmer transplantation costs have more than doubled”. It said that “in case the government did not step in and give compensation of Rs 3000 per acre to all paddy growers, the agrarian crisis in the state would deepen”.
The committee also demanded that the Congress government pay the power, water and sewerage bills for the entire three-month period of the lockdown from the proceeds of the state disaster management fund. It said neither the common man nor the industry was in a position to take this load.
The meeting passed resolutions demanding that “the Congress government give a complete account of the Rs 5,600 crore revenue loss incurred by the excise department and fix responsibility for the same”. It demanded that “appropriate cases be registered against the family of the Religious Advisor to the chief minister following seizure of two trucks of illicit liquor from its sugar mill compound”.
The core committee also decided to bring these issues to the notice of Governor V P Singh Badnore on June 11 and also demanded an inquiry into “the liquor, seed and ration scams”.
Members present in the core committee meeting included Gobind Singh Longowal, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Tota Singh, Charanjit Singh Atwal, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Upinderjit Kaur, Sikander Singh Maluka, Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Gulzar Singh Ranike, Jagir Kaur, Bikram Singh Majithia, Hari Singh Zira, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Daljit Singh Cheema, Avtar Singh Hit, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Baldev Singh Mann and Jagmeet Singh Brar, said a SAD spokesperson.
Brar inducted in 20-member core committee
Former Congress MP Jagmeet Singh Brar, who had joined Akali Dal in April last year, was on Monday inducted in 20-member core committee announced by Sukhbir.