Chandigarh, March 4, 2021 (Yes Punjab News)
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today told Punjab Congress President Sunil Jakhar not to indulge in cheap shoot and scoot politics, saying he was in the habit of making wild allegations and then running away from substantiating them.
Reacting to the Punjab Congress President’s statement on the Rs 31,000 crore foodgrain procurement legacy issue which had accumulated since the time of the previous Congress government in 2004, former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said it was strange that Jakhar and the Congress party always adopted a double face on this matter.
“The Congress party desperately tries to politicize this issue in Punjab even as it officially admits that the amount accumulated due to disparity in calculation of transport and labour charges for procurement done on behalf of the centre.
The Congress government has also requested the union government to address the credit gap on the lines of “shared responsibilities” among all the stakeholders involved in the foodgrains procurement process in the State including the State government, the centre and the consortium of banks”.
Asking Jakhar why he was resorting to a political ‘tamasha’ on an issue which concerned the welfare of the State, Dr Daljit Cheema said Jakhar was playing into the hands of the centre and giving it an opportunity to penalize the State further instead of trying to resolve the issue in the State’s favour through negotiations.
Dr Cheema also reminded Jakhar about his stand before the 15th Finance Commission when he had concurred that the outstanding amount was due to difference in calculation of charges over a long period of time. “Now however you are trying to sensationalize the issue again for your petty politics forgetting the damage you will do to the State”.
Asking Jakhar not to dilute the State’s case, the SAD leader said it was also strange that the former was crowing that the forthcoming budget would be deficit free. “It is a matter of official record by independent agencies that the Congress government has not undertaken any infrastructure projects and that no investments have come into Punjab during the last four years.
The per-capita income has also gone down below the central average for the first time in the history of the State. Instead of addressing these issues Jakhar is tom-tomming the non-performance of his government”, Dr Cheema added.
