Farmers Movement Archive

Stop confusing people on agri ordinances: SAD to Capt

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday asked chief minister (CM) Capt Amarinder Singh to “stop creating confusion on the central agricultural ordinances despite knowing it had nothing to do with minimum support price (MSP)”.In a statement here, former minister Daljit Singh Cheema asked the CM to shun politics on the central agricultural ordinances in the interest of Punjabis. “Punjabis want answers to the ₹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,” the former minister asked.Cheema said Punjabis also wanted to know why illegal mining of sand was continuing unabated in the state. “Why is the state government facilitating the sand mafia by reducing their lease fee and even allowing them to mine sand where clearances have not been given,” he asked.The former minister said 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. Further, according to Cheema, there are other issues concerning the state, such as denial of dues to sugarcane growers and huge power bills thrust on the common man, but the CM seems oblivious to these and is bent on building a false narrative to cover his failures.Asking the CM to tell farmers and Kisan Unions the whole truth, Daljit Cheema said, “Isn’t it a fact that you amended the state Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act in 2017 to include all the provisions contained in the farmers’ produce and trade ordinance, such as allowing creation of private yards, direct marketing and e-trading.”He said the state did not only amend its APMC Act but also participated in the consultation process on the agricultural ordinances. “Now after doing all this, the CM is misleading farmers and Kisan Unions in league with AAP for petty political gains,” he said.

Hindustan Times

06-07-2020

Chandigarh