The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday gave seven days ultimatum to Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to convene a special session of the Punjab Assembly to declare the entire State a notified Mandi (Principal Market Area) and reject the centre’s recent Acts on farm marketing as well as repeal its own amended APMC Act of 2017.
The SAD declared that in the event of Captain Amarinder Singh’s refusal to convene the session, the party would gherao his residence. A decision to this effect was taken at a special meeting of the SAD Core Committee chaired by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal here this afternoon.
The Core Committee reiterated its continued firm support to the Farmers’ Organizations agitating against the three central Acts. Giving details of decisions taken at the Core Committee meeting, Harcharan Bains, Principal Advisor to the SAD President said that the party’s ultimatum comes in the wake of Amarinder’s daily flip flops on the calling of the session. The SAD Core Committee also decided to take up the issue of early reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor with the External Affairs Minister soon to ensure Sikh pilgrims could pay obeisance at the shrine in Pakistan during the run-up to the 551st Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
A party delegation will meet the External Affairs Minister in this regard. The core committee noted that restrictions had been removed on paying obeisance at all shrines across the country and even the world.
It said since the Pakistan government had also acceded to reopen the Corridor, the Union government should also permit the same at the earliest.
While on the other side, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had neither the moral right nor any political standing to dictate terms to him or his government in the matter.
It was ludicrous that the party which had boycotted the last Vidhan Sabha session to avoid voting for the resolution against the Farm Laws is now so desperate about convening the next session to reject those very legislations, the Chief Minister said, reacting to SAD’s ultimatum.
He termed the Shiromani Akali Dal’s ultimatum and threat of gherao on the issue as yet another example of the shocking double standards of the Badals. Captain Amarinder said he did not need Akali’s advice or ultimatums to do the right thing for the farmers. The Chief Minister dismissed the Akali threats as nothing more than a desperate bid by the Badals to get back into the good books of Punjab’s farmers to ensure their own political careers.
As far as the Kartarpur Corridor was concerned, the Chief Minister said his government was also in favour of its opening but it was up to the central government to take a decision based on assessment of security perception and the Covid situation.