Patiala: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday claimed that Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring reversed the party’s stand seeking a CBI probe into the death of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa after a “single reprimand” from chief minister Bhagwant Mann.Addressing a public rally in the Amloh area of Fatehgarh Sahib district, Sukhbir said it was astonishing that Raja Warring started opposing the stand taken by the Congress MPs from Punjab who wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah and called for a CBI probe into Randhawa’s death.The rally was organised as a part of the SAD’s ‘Punjab Bachao’ campaign. Senior Akali leader Gurpreet Singh Raju Khanna was also present.“All it took for the CM to make Raja Warring come to heel was a statement that the case involving the latter and his brother-in-law Dimpy Vinayak, who forced a Faridkot businessman to commit suicide, was also not sent to the CBI,” said Sukhbir.The SAD chief also said Bhagwant Mann constantly brandished a file containing details of a Rs 100-crore scam by Raja Warring, involving fabrication of 814 buses from Rajasthan despite lower quotes from Punjab fabricators during his tenure as the transport minister in 2021- 22.He said Raja Warring’s complete cave-in on the issue made it clear that he was not fit to be Punjab Congress president and would ruin the party.Emphasising that Punjab needed a party and a chief minister who could bring back an era of peace and development, Sukhbir said: “You have seen both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party. Stop experimenting any further. Repose faith in your regional party and its leadership to put Punjab back on the path of progress and prosperity.”Listing the SAD’s earlier stints in power, the senior leader said the party did the utmost for farmers, traders and the poor. “We gave farmers free power facilities besides making Punjab power surplus. The SAD is also responsible for introducing old-age pensions and innovative social welfare schemes like the Aata-Dal scheme, Shagun scheme and SC scholarships. All these schemes are in doldrums under the AAP rule,” he said.Sukhbir further said the AAP govt betrayed farmers by reneging on procuring moong (green gram) despite official announcements and not providing compensation for crop loss due to floods last year.“The AAP govt has also failed to intervene and help farmers in case of forced distress sale of commodities like potatoes, which is happening right now. I assure farmers that we will direct the state agencies to step in and procure all food commodities in case of any distress sale,” said the Akali Dal leader.On his plan for Punjab, Sukhbir said he would not allow industrial or sewage effluents to enter the Sutlej and Beas rivers. “The violators will be dealt with sternly. This is essential to tackle the scourge of cancer in the Malwa belt.”He also announced that motorcycles would be exempt from road tax once the SAD govt was formed.Sukhbir further said a Rs 10-lakh interest-free loan would be offered to the youth, besides restarting an expanded Aata Dal scheme, increasing old age pension to Rs 3,100 per month and Shagun allowance to Rs 1 lakh.The SAD president also announced tube-well connections to farmers without the same, free ‘takseem’ of joint ownership of land, and reintroduction of the single point tax ‘Rahat’ scheme to end the “tax terrorism” on traders by the AAP govt.MSID:: 129800825 413 |
