Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha and local MP Capt Amarinder Singh today reiterated that he has never been opposed to the elevation of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress President and he believed him to be an energetic and dynamic leader with a vision for the party and the country. He welcomed his visit to Punjab to assess the losses suffered by the farmers.Talking to reporters here today, Capt Amarinder clarified that he had only said that given the personality driven politics prevailing in the country today, Ms Sonia Gandhi was doing an excellent job.“Nowhere, whether on the television or in the print media have I ever opposed Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as the Congress president”, he said, while adding, Rahul was a dynamic young leader with a vision for the party and the nation. He said, Rahul had not only made his point but scored a point in the parliament while raising the issues related to farmers.
He welcomed Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Punjab and disclosed that after visiting various grain markets in Patiala and Khanna yesterday, he (Capt Amarinder) had sent a message to him (Rahul Gandhi) that Punjab grain markets were in dire straits and he should visit. He disclosed that Rahul duly acknowledged the message and expressed happiness that he had immediately decided to visit grain markets in Punjab.The former Chief Minister said, he had full sympathies with the protesting farmers and they had been forced to stage the protests. Replying to a question about farmers’ dharna blocking the train and bus traffic, he said, he had already warned the government that the situation was getting out of control and it may lead to law and order problem for which both the state as well as the central governments will be responsible.
Capt Amarinder also attended the convocation of the DAV College here. He lauded the services rendered by the DAV institution across the country for over a century now. He said, the DAV had actually made a difference in the life of the nation by immensely contributing in the field of education for all these years. He said, this tradition should continue and hoped that it got all the support and assistance it deserved from the government.
The former Chief Minister expressed concern over the non-availability of grant in aid supposed to be provided by the government to private aided institutions. He said, he was aware of the problem and hoped that the government takes the education on priority basis.“Our education system, as private institutions are an important and integral part of it, must not be allowed to suffer on account of financial constraints which again are of government’s own making”, he asserted.Later Capt Amarinder visited the grain market at Raja Sansi and talked to the farmers there. He shared the farmers’ concern over the unusual delay by the government in making payments to them for their crops. He expressed surprise as why the government was not making payment to the farmers when it had already got the cash credit from the centre.Earlier during the day a delegation of the Punjab Beopar Mandal led by its president Amrit Lal Jain met him at the residence of local MLA OP Soni. The delegation sought clarification on certain contentious issues on the proposed GST fearing that this might put additional financial and taxation burden on the trade. The delegation members urged him to raise the matter in the concerned quarters.Among others present on the occasion included MLAs OP Soni, Sukh Sarkaria, Dr Raj Kumar Verka, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Harjinder Thekedar, Sunil Datti, Harpartap Singh Ajnala, Gurjeet Aujla, Harminder Singh Gill, Dinesh Bassi, Arun Joshi, Bhupinder Randhawa and others.