Chandigarh: Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab minister S Bikam Singh Majithia today asked the Congress to stop playing fraud on the people of Punjab by arranging fake and theatrical visits to the Governor to redress the flood victims’ problems. “ They should go to ‘their own Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’ now and urge him to not just announce but actually provide liberal relief to the flood ravaged people in the state. The erstwhile Congress in Punjab is now official a wing of the AAP. So, they are a part of the government.”
Mr Majithia said, “Barring the deception of fake separate appearance, the Congress has literally abdicated its place in Punjab to AAP. Therefore, instead of wasting the time of the people and of the Governor, Raja Warring and his men should now go to “their own CM Mann’s residence to get their demands fulfilled.”
Addressing media persons at the party headquarters here this afternoon, Mr Majithia said that there is virtual split in the Congress as many senior Congress leaders in the state are smarting under the insult heaped on them by their own party ina “game of devious deception played by the Cong leader Rahul Gandhi and AAP leader Arvind Kejrival.
The former minister said that many Congress leaders, like ex CM Channi, Amritsar Congress leader Soni and Ashu, could be the beneficiaries of this quid pro quo with AAP, under which these leaders will now escape corruption cases as a price for their political surrender.”
“ But there are others who are feeling badly cheated by their party.
Mr Majithia however had a word of praise for senior Congress leaders, Pratap Singh Bajwa and Sukhpal Singh Khehra. “I must be fair to them even though they have been opposing us. At least, they tried sincerely to play the role of the Opposition But I sympathise with them for the manner in which they have been stabbed in the back by their own party.”
The Akali leader demanded “full compensation to all the flood hit Punjabis plus special additional relief to farmers as they would not be able now to sow the crop for this season. The peak sowing season is already behind us. Even If there are no further rains in this season, It will take years for the state’s economy , especially the poor and beleaguered farmers, to recover from this blow.” He said that the govt should immediately announce a moratorium on the recovery of all loans to farmers and business and trade units hit by the floods.
He said that the flood menace in Punjab was totally “a man-made disaster.” “There were rains for only three or four days. But even this was enough to totally expose the utter unpreparedness of the government and throw life completely out of gear. I shudder to think what would have happened if the rains had continued for eight to ten days. The government did not listen even to red alerts on rains and flash floods. And now people have to pay the price of this government’s cruel indifference and inefficiency.”
The Akali leader also vehemently opposed release and special treatment being accorded to Sirsa Dera Chief. “He deserves to remain behind bars.”
The former revenue minister described as “ outrageous and a blot on the face of our country the disgraceful incident of heaping disgrace and misery on two girls in Manipur. He demanded an end to the law of the jungle prevailing in that state and excess being committed against ethnic groups and minorities there, especially the Christians.