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Chandigarh, February 19 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said the State police had failed to implement chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s orders to clamp down on goonda tax which was on the increase with even the Indian Air Force (IAF) authorities complaining of this and said only an inquiry by a sitting judge of the high court could pin down the real culprits and lead to their arrest.
In a statement here, former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal said the SAD had demanded arrest of all those involved in collection of goonda tax and Jojo Service Tax (JST) within 24 hours but no action had been taken in this matter since the last three days. “It seems CM Capt Amarinder Singh’s writ does not run in Bathinda parliamentary constituency in which finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal alone calls the shots. Manpreet apparently is not giving a free hand to the police authorities to question and take action against his brother-in-law Jaijeet Singh Johal who is being accused of collecting protection money”.
The Akali leader also condemned Manpreet Badal of trying to play the victim card by stating that the SAD was making allegations against his family members. “We have not made these allegations. It is the people as well as transporters and the Bathinda refinery management which is stating this. If Manpreet Badal has nothing to hide he should not stop the police from doing its job. The very fact that no action has been taken in this matter despite a complaint by the State’s largest investor – the Bathinda refinery – clearly points out that the police hands are tied. It is unable to take action against those who are responsible for posting them at Bathinda”, he added.
Mr Grewal said it was condemnable that now even the Armed forces were suffering from goonda tax. He said contractors supplying sand and gravel to the Bhisiana air force station in Bathinda had also complained to the IAF authorities as well as the district police against extortion from all trucks entering the air force station. “It is strange that the State police have still not acted on this complaint despite its serious nature”, he added.
The Akali leader said the inability of the Congress government to arrest those behind his extortion racked had harmed the image of Punjab and would result in new investors shunning the State. “The SAD-BJP government had during its earlier tenure taken a number of steps to make Punjab attractive for new investors including making the State power surplus and ensuring fast clearances through a single window system. All these efforts will now go to waste as the government has through its inaction proved that it cannot take any action against its own men even if they are indulging in collection of goonda tax. This will have a direct impact on trade and industry in the Bathinda area and sound the death knell for industrial development of the Malw region”, he added.
