Amarinder Singh seeks guaranteed paddy procurement in Punjab

"You remember what I did in 2004 and let me promise you today that I am prepared for yet another sacrifice to save Punjab's waters," he said.

Moga, Jul 14 :  Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to seek guarantee from the Prime Minister that entire paddy produced in Punjab this year will be procured. Addressing a workers’ meeting here, he expressed doubts about the Food Corporation of India procuring the paddy in Punjab this time. “I hope that does not happen but if it happens there will be lawlessness and anarchy in Punjab as large number of farmers have switched to paddy cultivation,” he said. He asked the farmers to be ready for a long and hard struggle to save Punjab’s waters in case the Supreme Court decides in favour of Haryana in the SYL canal issue. “You remember what I did in 2004 and let me promise you today that I am prepared for yet another sacrifice to save Punjab’s waters,” he said. Also Read: Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann comes to Parliament drunk: Capt. Amarinder Singh

He said the Congress government will reopen the inquiry into the Behbal Kalan sacrilege incident as Justice Zora Commission “had proved to be just an eyewash”. He said while he strongly believes Badal is responsible for the sacrilege, an independent inquiry will establish the truth. He said two main things needed to be probed: who was responsible for the sacrilege and on whose instructions the police opened fire at the protesters and Zora Singh Commission is “silent” on both. “And if it is established that Badal was responsible for the sacrilege I will take no time to put him in jail,” he asserted.

Earlier, he interacted with the people of Nihalsingh Wala Assembly segment under his ‘Halqe vich Captain’ programme. He assured the farmers if the Congress government comes to power, it will enact a law to protect indebted farmers’ land from being auctioned and will ensure effective measures are taken towards settling the debts so that they are relieved from the vicious cycle forever. Lashing out at the Badals, he said, while they had left no stone unturned to amass personal wealth and fortune worth billions of rupees, now they were helping their relatives, the Majithias to grab the historic Khalsa College, Amritsar. He said the day Congress takes over the government in Punjab it will scrap the Khalsa University.