Sign in

Badal should not seek votes on basis of longevity: Jakhar

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal should not seek votes on the basis of his ‘longevity’.

Updated on: Oct 11, 2016, 14:57:11 IST
Hindustan Times | By , Ferozepur
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal should not seek votes on the basis of his ‘longevity’.

Senior Congress leader and Abohar MLA Sunil Kumar Jakhar at a press conference in Abohar on Sunday. (HT Photo)
Senior Congress leader and Abohar MLA Sunil Kumar Jakhar at a press conference in Abohar on Sunday. (HT Photo)

This was stated by the spokesman of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) and senior Congress leader Sunil Kumar Jakhar after visiting various grain markets at Abohar, a subdivision of the Fazilka district on Monday.

“Not only me, but all Punjabis will pray for the longest life of Parkash Singh Badal but Punjab can’t afford to have another term of the Shiromani Akali Dal,” he said.

“With the move of seeking a loan of Rs 31,000 crore allegedly to to cover up the Akali ‘looting’ in the food scam, Badal, in connivance with Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, has put every Punjabi under another debt `10,333 each,” alleged Jahkar.

Even the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report, had cited the food scam in Punjab, but the Akalis and BJP leaders are trying to cover up the same, he said.

“Congress will drag the matter to the Punjab and Haryana high court,” he said.

“Despite personal assurances by Badal, farmers are not only being harassed, but also being looted in the procurement of paddy,” said Jakhar.

“Not even a single penny for the paddy procured so far, has been paid to farmers yet,” he said.

“It is ironical that the 21% moisture in paddy is allowed in the neighbouring BJP-ruled Haryana, but here in Punjab the norm for the moisture content is mere 17%. Instead of doing justice with poor farmers, the Akalis are registering cases against them when they protest to raise their voice,” he rued.

He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would soon visit various grain markets of Punjab to share the grief of farmers.