Punjab Bharatiya Janata party today asked the state Irrigation minister Rana Gurjit to focus on his department rather than sand mining. In a press conference here today at Chandigarh State president BJP Punjab & Union Minister Vijay Sampla flanked by National Vice President Avinash Rai Khanna, National Secretary Tarun Chugh, Former State President Manoranjan Kalia, Prof. Rajinder Bhandari and Ashwani Sharma, State General Secretary Manjit Singh Rai and Punjab BJP secretary Vineet Joshi said that while thousands of acres of farmland lies submerged in water, an oblivious Rana Gurjit was busy in illegal sand mining and getting a clean chit from Justice Narang Commission. Had he concentrated on his department and prepared a strategy for combating the fury of the monsoon, the farmers would not have been ruined, Sampla said.Sampla said, “Had Rana Gurjit been serious about his work, he would have cleaned the 1500km drain network in the state. He should have ensured that the water doesn’t log in low-lying areas and should have a strategy in advance. Had he acted on time and concentrated on his department, the farmers would have not suffered a loss. The farmers are already feeling cheated after the government took a U-turn on the promise of full loan waiver and now this neglect has devastated them. We ask the Chief Minister to keep his promise and provide a relief of Rs. 20,000 per acre to the farmers”.
Sampla furher said, “We have been saying since long that the famers of the state are committing suicide as the government went back on its promise of a full loan waiver. Now a farmer of village Tedakalan in Ajnala Tehsil, Major Singh in his suicide note has clearly held the Congress responsible for his misfortune. Over 180 farmers have ended their livers during his rule of 150 days. After the CM announced a partial loan waiver on June 19, 100 famers have committed suicide. What is even more shameful is that the families of the suicide victims have been forced to stage dharnas to get compensation. Erring farmers have been declared defaulters by the Banks and Co-operative Societies and they are now securing loans from private lenders at 15 to 18 per cent interest rate for sowing new crop. The government has also failed to curb fake pesticides. Congress people might be linked to this scandal too, but in the end farmers are the only losers.”“Capt. Amarinder Singh’s and Punjab Congress Chief Sunil Jhakhar’s claim of weeding out drugs and controlling the gangsters have fallen flat after their own MLA, Surjit Singh Dhiman stated that drugs were easily available in every street of Punjab.
The allegations leveled by Dhiman against the Congress leaders and police and administrative officers regarding the sale of narcotics in the state are very serious in nature. But, the way the Chief Minister hasn’t initiated a probe even after the passage of 15 days, it seems that he is shielding the involved party people”, said sampla.“By banning the truck unions, the Chief Minister has hurt thousands who were earning their livelihood through trucks. And what was feared came true, even the truck operators have started committing suicide. The suicide of 52-year-old truck operator Amrik Singh of Khai village in Lehraghaga proves this fact”.Grewal and Joshi said, “The Congress government has been unable to rein in the transport mafia, illegal mining, atrocities on Dalits, false case against the Oppostion, gangwars etc. in the state. The Youth is yet to get smart phone, jobs, school students are yet to get books, liquor vends are being opened next to schools and poor are not getting ration under aata-dal scheme. To sum up, the Capt. Amarinder Singh’s government has failed on all fronts”.