Hundreds of Indian students facing ‘deportation’ from Canada stage protest
Phagwara/Kapurthala/Jalandhar, August 25: The Punjab Congress President Mr Partap Singh Bajwa today demanded CBI probe into the cheating of farmers by the sugar mills in the state. He also urged the Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal to work out modalities to keep the sugar sector functional by taking care of both the farmers and the millers.
At the dharna in Phagwara today in support of the farmers, he took strong exception to the loans raised by all the private sugar mills on behalf of the individual farmers by getting their signatures on blank papers but not clearing their arrears. Some of the farmers have been given only part of the loan taken from the banks against their names. He said it was a huge amount as the amount of loan raised per farmer by one mill was Rs 3 lakh and about thousands farmers were bonded with this mill.
He said the farmers were on the path of agitation as the private sugar mills had suddenly decided against crushing this season citing losses without giving any notice. He admitted that the sugar mills could not be run at losses as the market price of sugar had fallen while the sugarcane price was administered one.
He proposed that the state government must work out a formula to help the sugar mills also as the issue involved was bigger and that was of crop diversification as under paddy-wheat rotation, the soil in the state was losing fertility thereby leading to reduction in yield. In the long term interests of both farmers and the millers, the state government must intervene by protecting interests of all the stake holders.
The other senior Congress Leaders who participated the Dharna were Sh. Rakesh Pandey MLA Ludhiana North, Sh. Surinder Dawar MLA Ludhiana Central, Sh. Bharat Bhushan Ashu MLA Ludhiana West, Sh. Rajneesh Babbi MLA Mukerian , Smt. Charanjit Kaur Bajwa MLA Qadian, Sh Pawan Adiya General Secretary PPCC , Sh. Sukhpal Singh Khaira Spokesperson PPCC , Sh. Joginder Singh Mann Ex Minsiter, Sh Kanwaljeet Lally Ex MLA , Sh. Amarjit Singh Samra Ex MLA, Sh. Gurbinder Singh Atwal Ex Minister, Sh. Anil Dutta Secretary PPCC , Sh. Vinay Mahajan Secretary PPCC , Rana Rajinder Pal Singh Randhawa Secretary PPCC, Sh. Varinder Sharma Secretary PPCC, Sh Satnam Bitta Secretary PPCC, Sh. Gurwinder Singh Balli Secretary PPCC, Sh. Barinder Singh Chotepur Secretary PPCC, Sh. Kamaljit Singh Ohri Secretary PPCC, Sh. Baldish Toor Secretary PPCC, Sh. Joginder Pal Secretary PPCC, Sh. Seth Satpal Mall Secretary PPCC, Sh. Gurmit Pahra Secretary PPCC, Sh Jagjeet Bittu Secretary PPCC, Sh. Ravinder Dewan Secretary PPCC Sh. Manish Bhardwaj Executive Member PPCC, Sh. Inderjit Singh Randhawa Executive Member PPCC, Sh. Balwinder Singh Laddi Executive Member PPCC, Sh Rajeev Bhagat President DCC Amritsar Urban, Sh. Anil Vijj President DCC Pathankot, Sh. Inderpal Singh Dhanna Chairman Legal Cell PPCC, Kanwar Harepreet Singh Chairman Jan Kalyan & Parchaar Cell, PCC, Sh. Jatinder Pal Bedi Chairman Beopar Cell, Smt. Nimisha Mehta Chairperson of the Social Welfare & Education Cell PPCC, Sh Kulbir Singh Zira Vice President Punjab Youth Congress, Sh. Lakhwinder Singh Bhinder, Sh. Kamaljit Chawla, Sh Sanjeev Bugga, Sh Daljit Raju , Sh Balbir Gosal, Sh Harji maan and Sh. Karan Lally.
Referring to the name of the Revenue Minister Mr Bikram Singh Majithia surfacing this time in the Punjab and Haryana high court in the case of drugs and money laundering in connection with the transfer of investigating officer Mr Naranjan Singh, Mr Bajwa said The consistent position of the Congress party stands vindicated after the submission made by Sh. Niranjan Singh before the Hon’ble high court. In view of the submission of the Enforcement Directorate’s Investigating officer in the drug racket case who has in categorical terms stated that he was transferred because he had summoned Bikramjit Singh Majithia for his alleged involvement in the multi-thousand crore drug racket has exposed the massive cover up operation that is underway at the behest of the Badal and Majithia families. This submission before the Hon’ble high court assumes immense significance as the Enforcement Directorate comes under the administrative control of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India and given the fact that Mr. Majithia’s sister Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal is a cabinet colleague of the Union Finance Minister. This development further reflects the collusion of the BJP in shielding the kingpins of this devastating drug racket that has international ramifications. This buttresses the stand of the Congress party that the highest echelons of the Punjab Government and the Union Government are interfering with the investigation process with a clear objective to shield Majithia and to obfuscate the course of justice. The entire pattern and the systematic attempts made by the Government beginning from the intimidation of ED officers, then to transfer orders of the Investigating Officer and subsequently of the Special Public Prosecutor furthers demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Prime Minister who had made bogus assurances in his much touted “Man Ki baat” of eradicating the drug menace. Moreover the developments of the past few days wherein close aides of the State BJP President have been held accepting bribes to shield and protect drug smugglers from criminal prosecution leaves no manner of doubt that the BJP and the Akali Dal are joint venture partners in this drug trafficking racket and are collectively ruining the future of the State to satiate their greed for money.
He said it was not just the Akali leaders whose names had surfaced as now even the state BJP president Mr Kamal Sharma had also become part of this club following the arrest of his associates whom he had been patronising.
Mr Bajwa said with the arrest Mr Sharma’s PA Jimmy Sandhu, the beans had been spilled. Moreover, the names of several of his other associates from Ferozepur had appeared in the case and as such, the BJP was too a tainted party.
The PPCC chief reiterated the demand for a court monitored CBI probe into the drug smuggling in Punjab involving both the Akali and the BJP leaders.
