Break silence on seed scam: SAD to Punjab CM

In a statement here, former minister Daljit Singh Cheema said even though an FIR was registered in this connection on May 11 and paddy breeder seeds of PR-128 and PR-129 were seized from a seed store in Ludhiana, no follow-up action has been taken in the matter till now

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday urged chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to break his silence and direct the state police to act against the perpetrators of the seed scam busted by the state agriculture department under which spurious paddy seeds of breeder varieties were sold to farmers at highly inflated rates.

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In a statement here, former minister Daljit Singh Cheema said even though an FIR was registered in this connection on May 11 and paddy breeder seeds of PR-128 and PR-129 were seized from a seed store in Ludhiana, no follow-up action has been taken in the matter till now.

“It seems the police have adopted a ‘go slow’ policy and have not made any arrests in the case after it came to light that the breeder seed producer who supplied the seed to the Ludhiana store enjoyed the patronage of cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa,” alleged Cheema.

The SAD leader said since the CM held the agriculture portfolio, it was incumbent upon him to pass orders to ensure that the interests of the farming community were not compromised in any manner.