Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that the presentation of the farm ordinances in Parliament on Monday by the Centre had totally exposed the farce of Shiromani Akali Dal’s pretence of protecting the interests of the farmers of the state. With the BJP-led NDA government going ahead with laying the ordinances on the table of the House on the very first day of the Parliament session, instead of accepting SAD’s so-called plea to defer the same, the Akali charade on the issue had been laid bare, said the Chief Minister.
The fact that Sukhbir Singh Badal had stayed away from the House on Monday, when the ordinances were presented for legislation, showed that the entire drama of seeking postponement of their enactment was played out by the SAD president to appease the farmer organisations, which have been up in arms against the ordinances, Captain Amarinder said. There is clearly a conspiracy to undermine the farmers’ interests and that of the states, which are constitutionally mandated to be
responsible for Agriculture, said the Chief Minister, asking “why else would Sukhbir conveniently remain away from Parliament on the opening day itself?”
This is what the Akalis had done in the Vidhan Sabha during the one-day session too, he pointed out, adding that even then SAD had chosen to avoid having to vote the anti-ordinances resolution.
Meanwhile, the CM has ridiculed the statements of Harpal Singh Cheema and Aman Arora alleging Congress-SAD/BJP connivance in the farm ordinances, asking the AAP leaders to check their facts before giving a statement. AAP has become habituated of making unsubstantiated statements without a grain of truth in them, he said.