Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh said that he would take the fight against the ordinances related to the agriculture sector to the Centre
Accusing the Akalis of “selling” the state’s interests by agreeing to the “anti-farm” ordinances to “ruin” the farming community, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said that he would take the fight against the ordinances related to the agriculture sector to the Centre.
Amarinder said he would be writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon for an appointment of an all-party delegation with him over this issue. All Punjab parties, except the BJP, will be part of the delegation.
“No matter what (SAD chief) Sukhbir Badal or BJP says, once these ordinances are passed, the Centre’s next step would be to end the MSP regime and dismantle the FCI. You can imagine what will happen to Punjab farmers if this becomes a reality,” he said, adding the procurement process will come to an end and mandis will be finished once the ordinances become law.
“The Akalis are only interested in protecting their political interests, with Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal focused on safeguarding her position in the Union Cabinet,” he alleged, adding that the Badals are appeasing the BJP to save their alliance in Punjab at any cost.
“They are just bothered about their political interests. Sukhbir wants his wife to stay in the Union Cabinet while he remains the ‘Pradhan’ here. They are thinking about themselves and not of Punjab,” he alleged.
Underlining the need to save Punjab and protect its interests, the chief minister said the ordinances were 100 per cent against Punjab and “anti-farmers”, as agreed by all political parties, except the BJP and the Akalis.
All the Kisan Unions, which he had recently met, also wanted immediate scrapping of these ordinances, he added.
He said the Akalis had earlier ruined the state with their Punjabi Suba movement and were now hell-bent on destroying the farming sector by supporting these ordinances, which were a blatant attack on the country’s federal structure. History is witness to the fact that the Akalis divided Punjab and gave away bulk of the state’s resources to Himachal Pradesh and Haryana due to their sheer short-sighted focus on their petty political interests.
LOCUST CONTROL
The CM welcomed the permission given by the Centre to his request for using helicopters to spray insecticides on crops to prevent locust attack. While expressing the hope that the locust swarms would spare Punjab, he said a MI-17 helicopter had been earmarked for spraying chemicals and the operation would start from Rajasthan soon.
COVID
As cases continued to rise across India, and crossed 6,000 mark in Punjab, Amarinder reiterated the importance of taking all precautions, including social distancing and wearing of masks. Pointing out that 4,000-5,000 cases were being registered every day for violations, including spitting on roads, he urged the people not to get complacent and violate the rules. “We can only control, not cure,” the CM said, exhorting the people to follow all guidelines being shared by sarpanches and others as part of Mission Fateh.
He made it clear in reply to a question that recruitment of doctors, paramedics and nurses was in progress on fast track with the Cabinet having taken a special decision to strengthen the fight against Covid.
A student wanted to know about travelling to Canada where he had an exam scheduled for September. The CM said while he expected international travel to be open before that, the state government would also try to get his name on the list sooner if flights resumed.
Amarinder assured a questioner that there would be no shortage of funds for ensuring befitting 400th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Teg Bahadur.
On delay in opening of Kharar flyover, Amarinder said it was an NHAI project and got delayed due to Covid but work had resumed now and his government was also following up with the Government of India. He recalled that the Kharar bypass was constructed during his last tenure.
To another question regarding the High Court decision on payment of school fee in the absence of classes, the CM said he was also not happy with the same and the state government was in the process of filing a review petition in the High Court.