AAP created rift between farmers, traders: Sunil Jakhar

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, May 28

Alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government has led to creation of rift between the farming and trading community as well as urban and rural Punjab, Bharatiya Janata Party state chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said that this had been deliberately done to keep everyone engaged and away from the real issues.

Jakhar said that the traders were being made to see farmers as their enemies for the huge losses worth hundreds of crores they have incurred due to prolonged rail and road blockade at Shambhu border. By keeping them occupied on the issue, the government has managed to eclipse the ground problems of Punjab, including increased corruption and drug menace. He said that the issues that require immediate attention are saving Punjab’s ‘nasal’ and ‘fasal’. He said that AAP had come to power assuring that drugs would be rooted out but nothing has been done.

Even Congress cannot be expected to do anything on this front as two of its Punjab leaders have a drug taint, the BJP state chief, who previously was with the Congress alleged. “One of them is contesting elections, the other is not. Former CM Capt Amarinder Singh had written against one of them to Sonia Gandhi that heroin had been recovered from the car of one of these leaders. The other one had apologised before then Punjab Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and as the Leader of Opposition, I had then sought a judicial probe into the matter. Sukhbir or Capt Amarinder can be asked about these incidents and Vidhan Sabha records can be checked,” he alleged.

Jakhar maintained that since both Congress and AAP were in alliance out of Punjab, justice could not be expected from either of the two on any issue, including on the killing of singer Sidhu Moosewala. “I feel for his father Balkaur Singh, who is banking on the false hopes being given by the Congress,” he said.

Jakhar attacked AAP on the issue of viral obscene video of a Punjab minister. “CM Bhagwant Mann is making tall claims on providing jobs. Here is a case on how a young woman in need of a job was being exploited by a minister. Will Mann take action against him?” he questioned.

On the issue of farmers, the BJP state president said, “There were 23 lakh farmers of Punjab registered under Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme till 2019 under which they were getting Rs 6,000 per month. Since about 8.5 lakh of them included those who were getting government pension or other benefits, the rest were required to get their KYC done. But neither the state government nor the farmer unions came to their aid and Rs 900 crore aid could not reach the farmers”.