Amarinder Singh and Sukhbir Singh Badal exchanged charges against state bills against agricultural laws
Chandigarh:
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and SAD Chairman Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday exchanged charges over state bills against Central agricultural laws, with the two accusing each other of colluding with the BJP.
The trigger was Amarinder Singh’s remarks that Mr. Badal’s position on the issue is a sign of “collusion with the BJP”.
In response, the head of SAD accused the chief minister of deceiving people and playing a “hoax” on farmers in league with the Center through the bills.
The CM in a statement said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had done another U-turn on agricultural laws.
He lashed out at Badal for repeatedly compromising farmers’ interests with his “brazen lies and petty political games, which were clearly aimed at promoting the Centre’s anti-farmer agenda.”
“By rejecting the state amendment bills, which his party had supported in the Vidhan Sabha, (Mr.) Sukhbir not only revealed his moral disbelief, but also echoed recent statements various leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ”the CM said in the statement.
“This showed a clear sign of collusion between the SAD and the BJP, suggesting that all the drama of (party deputy) Harsimrat Kaur’s resignation from the Union cabinet and the Akali withdrawal from the NDA was nothing to do with it. ‘other than a total farce intended to deceive farmers and sabotage their fight against central laws, ”he added.
“First you actively and wholeheartedly supported the Centre’s malicious farm ordinances, then left the NDA calling their anti-farmer bills, then engaged in a whole lot of political drama through rallies. protest and yatras across the state in purported support for farmers, then openly voted for the state government amendment bills and now rejects them, ”the CM said.
On Thursday, Sukhbir Singh Badal, who chaired a meeting of his party’s central committee here, said opposition members were shocked at how the chief minister “defrauded” the Punjab by “betraying” the unanimous resolution adopted by the assembly.
“This resolution mentioned that it categorically rejected the actions of the Center and called on the state government to declare the Punjab as the main market area. But the bills, which were later introduced by Amarinder Singh’s government, did not include any of these provisions. He is guilty of misleading and betraying the confidence of the House, ”Mr. Badal alleged.
The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution and passed four bills to overturn the central agricultural laws.
Hitting the head of SAD, Amarinder Singh nowhere said that it was mentioned that the government of Punjab had committed to declaring the entire state as a main market area, as claimed Mr. Sukhbir.
Hours after Mr Amarinder’s statement on Friday, Sukhbir Badal said: “It is reprehensible that after playing a hoax on Punjab farmers in connection with the central government, the chief minister is now trying to sell the fraud as a feat”.
“It is shameful that even after Amarinder Singh’s fraud was discovered and it was proven that he was in collusion with the Center simply to put an end to the ‘rail roko’ agitation of the peasant organizations, he was trying to deceive the Punjabis by trying to shift the blame for his own failures onto others, ”Mr. Sukhbir said.
Asking the chief minister to make it clear to Punjabis why he chose to legislate on a subject “on the competing list which would require central assent”, Mr Badal asked “is not that a clear sign of collusion with the government of the BJP at the Center “.
“You could have followed the advice of the SAD and chosen to legislate on the subject of agriculture by transforming the whole state into a single ‘mandi’ to deny the three agricultural laws but you have chosen to legislate on the subject of trade on which the Center has the final say, ”he said.
“You knew that the legislation you were introducing into the Vidhan Sabha would not get the presidential assent, but you still continued and ignored all advice to the contrary because you decided to sell the Punjab interests into the hands of the center. , “Mr. Badal alleged.
