AMRITSAR: Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia today said chief minister Bhagwant Mann had convened the Vidhan Sabha with the sole purpose of projecting AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal as an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not to discuss the burning issues of Punjab including the crisis in the agriculture sector.
The former minister was here to attend a court hearing regarding the criminal defamation suit he has filed against AAP leader Sanjay Singh.
Talking to newsmen, Mr Bikram Majithia said Punjabis would not tolerate the august Vidhan Sabha being used to serve the internal politics of AAP. “Punjabis are already aghast at the manner in which the AAP government in Punjab is remote controlled from Delhi. They are anguished that the government is not talking about giving compensation to farmers for crop damage, compensating them for losses likely to be suffered due to prevalence of dwarf virus in paddy, failure to give compensation to dairy farmers whose milch animals fell victim to Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) besides failing to release the promised subsidy of Rs 1, 500 per acre to farmers who went in for direct seeding of paddy”. He also asserted that the Vidhan Sabha was supposed to discuss issues pertaining to Punjab and not confidence motions which had not been demanded by anyone.
When questioned about the apex court decision validating the formation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act by the erstwhile Congress government in Haryana, Mr Majithia said “the SGPC lost the case in the Supreme Court because the erstwhile Capt Amarinder Singh government as well as the present AAP government took an anti-SGPC stance in court”.
Urging farmers to understand the conspiracy under which SGPC was being broken; Mr Majithia said “attempts are afoot to weaken Sikhs and their institutions. If Punjabis do not resist these conspiracies the day is not far off when Punjab’s water will also be taken away from us”. He said AAP had already laid the ground for this to happen and was in league with the Haryana government on this issue. AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal has echoed the stand of the Manohar Lal Khattar government and is even prevailing upon its Punjab unit not to oppose this move.
Meanwhile, while talking about the defamation case filed by him in court here; Mr Majithia said “Arvind Kejriwal had offered an unconditional apology to him in the case and that another senior AAP leader Ashish Khetan had also submitted a written apology in court. Now only Mr Sanjay Singh is left. I am determined to take the case to its logical conclusion”.
The action taken by the Ministry in extending this PCC application facility to POPSKs, would not only help Indian citizens seeking employment abroad, but also meet the demand for other PCC requirements, such as in the case of education, long term visa, emigration etc.