Punjab CM slams SAD prez Sukhbir Badal over 'U-turn on farm ordinances'

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh dared Badal to quit the BJP-led Centre to prove his party's sincerity in the matter

Dubbing the SAD chief's sudden U-turn on the farm ordinances as a cheap gimmick to hoodwink the farming community, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday dared Sukhbir Singh Badal, to quit the BJP-led Centre to prove his party's sincerity in the matter.

As per a press release from the Chief Minister's Office, Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday slammed the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal over his party's brazen double standards on the issue and asked if the Akali leader was ready to vote against the Ordinances in Parliament as and when the central government puts them to vote.

"Pointing out that, as a member of the ruling alliance at the Centre, the SAD was party to the Ordinances and had supported them unconditionally, the Chief Minister slammed Sukhbir over his party's brazen double standards on the issue and asked if the Akali leader was ready to vote against the Ordinances in Parliament as and when the central government puts them to vote," the statement said.

According to the statement, the Chief Minister recalled Sukhbir's assertion that the central government had assured SAD that there would be no tinkering of the MSP.

"It is more than obvious now that the SAD president had lied then in a deliberate bid to mislead the farmers. Given his track record, nothing that Sukhbir was saying now on the issue could be believed or trusted in," the statement quoted the chief minister.

The Chief Minister also pointed to the SAD's stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, among other major issues concerning the state, asking what they were doing when the Ordinances were being brought in and why they did not object then.

"The SAD's sudden decision to urge the Centre 'not to rush through the Ordinances' reflected their desperation to get back into the good books of the farmers' unions/organisations with an eye on the Punjab Assembly elections, which were just about 18 months away. After compromising the interests of the farmers so brazenly, the Akalis were now trying to cover up their catastrophic blunder with their latest tactic," the statement quoted the Chief Minister.

As per the statement, the Chief Minister also ridiculed the SAD's decision to send a delegation led by Sukhbir to meet the central government to discuss the concern of the farmers.

"The SAD's claims of being ready to make any sacrifice to safeguard the interests of the farmers were completely humbug. Sukhbir should stop trying to befool the people of Punjab with his dirty games," the Chief Minister was quoted in the statement.

It further quoted, "Your wife is a union minister. Has she, even once, spoken for the farmers in the cabinet? On the contrary, the presence of the Akalis in the union cabinet had ensured that the Congress-ruled Punjab continues to get stepmotherly treatment from the central government.

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