Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday lambasted the Akalis for raising a hue and cry over the farm loan waiver package and trying to project themselves as messiahs of the farmers to promote their petty political interests, after pushing them into vicious debt traps with their lopsided policies.Dismissing as senseless their obnoxious demand for a Rs 90,000 crore farm loan waiver package after doing nothing for the farmers during their decade-long rule, the Chief Minister said the Akalis were trying desperately to pick at straws in a bid to find some issue to play to the public gallery and revive their political fortunes.In a statement issued here on Saturday, the Chief Minister reacted strongly to reports that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had submitted a memorandum to the Punjab Governor seeking directions to the government for a Rs. 90000 crore loan waiver. If they were so concerned about the plight of farmers why did they not do anything for the uplift of the farming community all these years, he asked, lashing out at the Akalis for playing to the public gallery on such a sensitive issue, which had serious financial implications.In fact, the pitiable condition of the farmers was the result of the anti-people policies of the erstwhile Akali government, said Captain Amarinder, blaming them squarely for the sufferings of every section of Punjab’s populace.
The Akalis led by the Badals should, instead of indulging in criticism, appreciate the work done so far by the Congress government in bringing the state’s economy, which they had left in a dismal mess, back on the track to some extent, and in initiating the loan waiver process, said the Chief Minister. That the government had succeeded in raising enough funds to start the process of loan waiver for small and marginal farmers indebted to cooperative institutions was a remarkable achievement considering the prevailing situation, he said, adding that the Akalis were obviously trying their best to promote their political interests over the farm debt waiver issue.Their demand now for complete waiver showed not only shocking lack of understanding of the ground situation in the state but also reflected their desperation to get back into the public limelight after being virtually thrown into political oblivion over the past 11 months, beginning with the Assembly polls in February, said Captain Amarinder.On the issue of the sacrilege cases, the Chief Minister said the Akalis were obviously looking for ways and means to save their skin in view of their imminent expose for their evident complicity in such cases. But, he warned, these acts would not help the Akalis evade justice for their misdeeds and misdemeanors of their decade long rule.The Chief Minister urged the Akalis to work as a constructive opposition and join hands with the government in ensuring the development of the state and all sections of its populace.