The core committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday urged the Centre to give bonus on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of wheat, besides sending a team to inquire into the misappropriation and embezzlement of food material dispatched to the state.
In its meeting held here through video conferencing that party president Sukhbir Singh Badal chaired, the core committee also asked the government to remove the glut in ‘mandis’ by lifting wheat and helping those in crisis through direct cash transfers and waiver of electricity bills. Party patron and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal also attended. The core committee expressed its concern that the inclement weather, coupled with restrictions on sale of wheat, had resulted in hardship to farmers. It said a bonus was needed to offset the losses being suffered by farmers even as it asked the Centre to give directions to FCI to relax moisture norms and procure shrivelled and discoloured wheat. The committee also asked the Punjab government to take immediate steps to work out a bonus on wheat.
“Most Mandis have become clogged due to lack of lifting which could translate into a health hazard soon if not cleared,” said Sukhbir.
{{/usCountry}}“Most Mandis have become clogged due to lack of lifting which could translate into a health hazard soon if not cleared,” said Sukhbir.
{{/usCountry}}The committee asked the government to revise its strategy to counter covid-19, as the death rate was among the highest in Punjab. The members also resolved to demand from the state a judicial inquiry into the death and the subsequent controversy over the cremation of Padma Shri Bhai Nirmal Singh. The committee also paid condolences to Bhai Nirmal Singh, ACP Anil Kohli and all other victims of covid-19 in the state.
Advise Capt to release DA of
state employees: Majithia to Rahul
In a separate statement, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia also asked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to advise chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to release Dearness Allowance (DA) and arrears of Rs 5,000 crore to Punjab government employees, due since 2018 if he was really concerned about employee welfare. “The Centre has taken the unprecedented step to freeze the hike in DA, but the Punjab government has not been giving arrears to its employees for three years. Isn’t this really inhuman and cruel? Should you not practise what you preach and get what you are advising the Union government implemented in Punjab first?” he added.