SAD core committee asks Centre and State to resolve rail imbroglio at the earliest

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today expressed grave concern at the economic loss caused to Punjabis including farmers as well as trade and industry by the ongoing economic blockade of the State and asked the Centre and the State to hold talks and resolve this issue at the earliest. Also Read | Sukhbir Singh Badal requests Vice President to direct PU to hold Senate elections immediately  A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the SAD’s core committee which was presided over by party President Sukhbir Singh Badal. The core committee said Punjab was paying a very heavy price due to the ongoing fixed match between the BJP led central government and the Congress government in Punjab. “While farmers are not getting supply of much needed fertilizer for sowing the wheat crop, the trade and industry is losing crores on a daily basis due to the blockade. Even as the State’s economy is bleeding, there is danger of social unrest spoiling the peace of Punjab”. The committee said it appeared chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh was playing a double game and had hatched a conspiracy to pit farmers against the trade and industry in the State.  “It appears the chief minister is deliberately not taking any initiative to resolve the current imbroglio because he feels that the more the issue lingers the more attention will be diverted from the failures of his government”, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal observed in the committee meeting. The SAD President said the chief minister preferred to go to Delhi to hold a one hour sham ‘dharna’ but did not meet the Railways minister or the Prime Minister to ensure freight train services were resumed in Punjab. Also Read | No more relaxation; Chandigarh Police back in action “Even now he is not engaging in any dialogue with the centre and has left Punjabis to their fate. Such an attitude could have dangerous fallout for the industrial sector in Punjab which is witnessing huge losses due to non-availability of raw materials as well as pile up of finished goods. We want that all issue of the trade and industry should be resolved at the earliest including immediate refunds of GST due to them and reduction in power tariffs to ensure there is no flight of capital from the State”. he stated. Warning Capt. Amarinder Singh not to play with fire, Mr. Badal observed that the chief minister had earlier also backstabbed Punjabis by taking false oaths in the name of the Dasam Pitah. He said like in the case of the river waters termination act whereby the Congress party had strengthened the case for flow of river waters to Haryana and Rajasthan, the chief minister has accepted the central agri-marketing laws by passing Bills amending them. Mr Badal said all this pointed to the fact that the Congress government in Punjab was working as per the dictates of the centre. “This is why the State government did not pass a Bill making the entire State a single Mandi which would have made the central agri marketing acts redundant in Punjab”, he added. -PTC News