SAD gives 7 days ultimatum to CM to call special Vidhan Sabha session

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today gave a seven-day ultimatum to Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh to convene a special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to declare the entire State a notified Mandi (Principal Market Area) and reject the Centre’s recent Acts on farm marketing as well as repeal its own amended APMC Act of 2017. The SAD declared that in the event of Captain Amarinder Singh’s refusal to convene the session, the party would gherao his residence. Also Read | Hathras Update: Victim’s family members appear in HC A decision to this effect was taken at a special meeting of the SAD Core Committee chaired by party president Sardar Sukhbir Singh Badal here this afternoon. The Core Committee reiterated its continued firm support to the Farmers’ Organizations fighting for the cause of the beleaguered peasantry especially with regard to the three central Acts. Giving details of decisions taken at the Core Committee meeting, Mr Harcharan Bains, Principal Advisor to the SAD President said “The ultimatum to Amarinder Singh has become necessary in view of the CM’s continued refusal to take a clear stand against the anti-farmer Acts of the Government of India as well as his stubborn refusal to declare the entire State a Principal Market Area where the center’s Acts would no longer be implementable” Mr Bains said that the party’s ultimatum comes in the wake of Amarinder’s daily flip flops on the calling of the session. “He has been playing hide and seek with the people and their representatives on the convening of the session, promising to call it one day and going back on it the next. The same ambivalence and evasiveness marks Amarinder’s stand on the three Acts of the Government of India on farm marketing. We call for an end to this politics of evasion. The SAD wants the center to make Assured Marketing of farmers’ crops at Minimum Support Prince (MSP) a constitutionally mandatory provision at par with the fundamental right. The party also wants the MSP be fixed as per the Swaminathan Formula of 50% profit plus the sum total of all the costs incurred by the farmers. The party wants the recommendations of the CACP to be binding on the Government of India”. he said. Also Read | Hindu temple vandalized in Pakistan’s Sindh, one accused arrested The SAD Core Committee also decided to take up the issue of early reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor with the Union External Affairs minister soon to ensure Sikh pilgrims could pay obeisance at the shrine in Pakistan during the run up to the 551th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji. A party delegation will meet the External Affairs minister in this regard. The core committee noted that restrictions had been removed on paying obeisance at all shrines across the country and even the world. It said since the Pakistan government had also acceded to reopen the Corridor, the Union government should also give permission for the same at the earliest. [caption id="attachment_439480" align="aligncenter"] sukhbir singh badal[/caption] The meeting also noted that despite the fact that SC Welfare minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot had been indicted for engineering an Rs 69 crore scam involving the scholarships of scheduled caste children, the chief minister had not taken any action against him. Also Read | India COVID-19: Total cases stand 71,75,881, Spike of 55,342 cases “This has sent a clear message that the Congress government does not care at all for more than three lakh children who have been affected due to the corrupt practices of Sadhu Singh Dharamsot. The core committee serves an ultimatum to the chief minister to sack Dharamsot immediately and register a criminal case against him or be ready to face a sustained agitation on this issue”. the committee said. The Committee also expressed serious concern at the mishandling the Hathras rape tragedy incident by the Uttar Pradesh government and asked it to ensure the victim family received justice besides taking strict exemplary action against police officials who had cremated the body of the victim forcibly. “Such acts have no place in a democracy”, it asserted. -PTC News