ISRU (KHANNA): Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today condemned the sharp increase in attacks on minorities, particularly the ethnic violence against the Christian community in Manipur even as he lambasted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for failing the farming community by refusing to release interim compensation for wipe out of their paddy crop during the floods in the State last month.
The SAD president was addressing a mammoth public gathering on the occasion of an annual conference held to mark the supreme sacrifice made by Sardar Karnail Singh Isru in the movement to liberate Goa from Portuguese rule.
Asserting that the violence in Manipur and Nuh, including the failure of the State governments to take corrective steps had instilled a feeling of insecurity amongst minorities in the country.
Badal said “we condemn this trend and demand exemplary punishment for those trying to disturb the peace in the country”. He said the SAD was in the process of sending a high level delegation to Manipur and Nuh to reach out to the victims and help them secure justice. He also made a fervent appeal to all political parties and governments to learn from the manner in which former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal took all religious groups along in the path of progress of Punjab. “This is the reason why Punjab did not witness a single communal clash during Mr Badal’s tenure”, he asserted.
Sukhbir Badal also took on the AAP government for destabilizing the entire farm economy and causing untold misery to farmers and the poor. He said farmers, who were awaiting relief for earlier crop losses, had not been given a single rupee as compensation for the wipe out of their entire paddy crop across thousands of acres in several areas of the State including, Patiala, Mansa and Shahkot. He said despite making grandiose announcements, chief minister Bhagwant Mann had turned a blind eye towards compensating those whose houses had been damaged by flood waters. “SAD demands interim compensation of Rs 50, 000 per acre for all those whose paddy crop was destroyed by floods as well as compensation of Rs 5 lakh for those whose houses were damaged by flood waters”. He said if this was not done as promised the party would hold dharnas to force the AAP government to fulfill the promise made to farmers.
The SAD president also castigated the chief minister for practicing deceit. He said Mr Bhagwant Mann had promised to end VIP culture but his family was moving around in the State with hundreds of gun men. He said similarly the entire governance in the State had been handed over to the AAP high command which was posting non-Punjabis to top posts and even preferring outsiders to youth of Punjab for government jobs.
Stating that the poor were the most affected, Mr Badal said “this AAP government has given one benefit to the poor – 300 units of free power and taken away all other social welfare benefits''. He said the shagun scheme and old age pension scheme had been disrupted even as names of lakhs of beneficiaries had been struck off from the aata –daal scheme.
Badal also pointed out how repeated cases of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib were taking place in the State be it at Behrampur, Hargobindpur or Morinda but no concrete action was being taken.
The SAD president also spoke on how Punjab continued to suffer with Punjab being the only State in the country which did not have a capital of its own. “Even our River waters were snatched away with the Congress giving away half of our waters to Rajasthan. Now the AAP government is facilitating transfer of land in Chandigarh to Haryana for a separate Vidhan Sabha to deliberately dilute Punjab’s right over the union territory.
Senior leaders present on the occasion included Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Gurpreet Singh Raju Khanna, Sarabjit Singh Jhinjer, Yadwinder Singh Yadu. Parmjeet Singh Dhillon, Jaspreet Singh Payal, Er Jagdev Singh Boparai, Gurbaksh Singh Bija & SGPC Member Raghbir Singh Saharan Majra.