AMRITSAR: Former minister Bikram Singh Majithia today termed the special assembly session convened by the Congress government as the biggest fraud on the people of Punjab, saying the Congress party wanted to hoodwink Punjabis by passing meaningless resolutions sans legal sanctity on sensitive issues including the extension of central jurisdiction and the three farm laws.
Mr Majithia was talking to Mediapersons here after the party received a huge boost with SGPC member Balwinder Singh Kahlwan and a large section of the leadership which had supported the Ranjit Singh Brahmpura group returning back to the SAD fold. These included sarpanches and panchayats of several villages in Tarn Taran.
Terming the holding of a special assembly session as a mere ‘jumla’, former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said instead of indulging in this stage show, the Congress government should pass executive orders forbidding the BSF to indulge in any policing activity beyond 15 kilometers of the international border besides making the three hated farm laws null and void in Punjab. He said similarly the government could cancel its Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with private thermal plant managements instead of going through the bogus drama of passing a resolution on this issue.
In a frontal attack on chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, the SAD leader said the former was responsible for the extension of the central jurisdiction in the State. “The chief minister met home minister Amit Shah on October five and while highlighting the issue of drones and increased drug smuggling demanded increased security arrangements. This is a matter of record and a fact which has been itself disclosed by the Punjab government. What has not been disclosed is that in this meeting Mr Channi surrendered the rights of the State simply because this government is engaged in turf wars only and has no inclination towards governance”.
Asserting that mere resolutions would not have any bearing on the lives of Punjabis, Mr Majithia “even Congress mp Manish Tewari has questioned his own government as to why it had not challenged extension of central jurisdiction in Punjab till now. He said similarly the State assembly had already passed a resolution against the three farm laws which was pending with the Governor. “What practical use can a new resolution be?” he asked. Mr Majithia also disclosed that even on the issue of PPA cancellation, a central Tribunal had already stayed the PPA termination notices sent to the four private thermal plants.
Mr Majithia also urged all legislators to search their conscience and decide whether they should support the skullduggery of the Congress government which had not addressed any of the burning issues of the State including giving compensation of Rs 50, 000 per acre to cotton growers whose crops had been damaged by pink bollworm attack, ensuring smooth supply of DAP fertilizer to farmers, released Rs 5, 000 crore Dearness Allowance arrears to employees, regularizing all 35, 000 contractual employees and releasing scholarship of SC students besides increasing social welfare benefits and assuring employment as well as unemployment allowance arrears to youth. “After failing on all these issues the government is wasting Rs one crore per day on the current special session besides spending crores on false advertisements regarding decrease in petrol and diesel prices when the truth is otherwise”.
Meanwhile answering a question, Mr Majithia also nailed home minister Sukhjinder Randhawa’s lie that his son-in-law Tarunvir Lehal had been selected on merit as an Additional AG. He said the truth was that Randhawa’s son-in-law did not have the requisite sixteen year experience to become an Additional AG and that he had been given the unjust employment after leaving meritorious candidates by taking recluse to the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ clause. The Akali leader also pointed out that Randhawa had objected to grant of a police officer’s job to Congress legislator Fatehjang Bajwa’s son but had no qualms in making the ghar ghar naukari scheme into a Congress ghar naukari scheme himself.
In reply to another query, Mr Majithia said food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu had indulged in corruption to the tune of Rs 5, 000 crore through various scams including embezzling wheat supplied by the centre during Covid pandemic, presiding over purchase of foodgrains at low prices from outside the State and getting them procured at the prevalent MSP, indulging in irregularities in the purchase of gunny bags and even making a tainted officer – Rakesh Singla the Chairman of the departments central vigilance committee.
Senior leaders Harmeet Singh Sandhu and Virsa Singh Valtoha were also present on the occasion.