AAP govt in Punjab unable to tackle challenges: Rahul
Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Jan, 2023 10:57 AM
Pathankot (Punjab), Jan 19 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that even as the farmers of Punjab fed the country through the Green Revolution, they are now plunged into debt and uncertainty due to spiralling costs, no guaranteed prices, falling water levels and fertility, and failing insurance schemes.
Rahul Gandhi, in an open letter addressing the people, alleged that the AAP government in Punjab seems unable to tackle the challenges.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra which is being led by the former Congress president completed its eighth day in Punjab on Thursday.
"People are repeatedly forced to take to the streets to protest. Rather than listening to the people of Punjab, the government is listening to their leader in Delhi. The AAP government would do well to learn history's lesson -- Punjab cannot be governed by remote control.
"The people of Punjab are also struggling with challenges. Fighting against the three black farm laws, many farmers even gave their lives. However, the crisis continues, and fewer and fewer youth aspire to be farmers," he said.
The former Congress president said due to the policies of the BJP government in Delhi, the aspiring youths have hardly any opportunity.
"Openings in the Army and the public sector are falling, and policies like Agniveer will weaken the Army and deprive youth of job security. Demonetisation and a badly designed GST, have brought the small and medium businesses of Punjab's vibrant industrial cities to the brink. They are struggling to stay open. Facing unemployment, many of Punjab's youth look for opportunities abroad, and many others tragically take to drugs," he said.
Rahul said "the Bharat Jodo Yatra's message is of love and equality -- the message which Guru Nanak Dev has taught the world".
"We want the hard work of every person to be respected and supported. I saw this same vision in the eyes of the people of Punjab, and the determination to fight to achieve it. The Yatra is entering its final stretch, but I will not rest until each Punjabi, and each Indian, gets the results of their tapasya," he added
"This is a revolutionary step aimed at supplementing the income of the farmers to bail them out from the agrarian crisis," he said after inaugurating Verka's newly-built milk processing and butter plant here. The Chief Minister said that the state government has inked an agreement with the Delhi government in this regard.
Five grenades and two automatic pistols were also recovered from the possession of Deepak alias Teenu, a resident of Haryana's Bhiwani. Police said that Deepak, a member of Lawrence Bishnoi-Kala Jathedi-Sampat Nehra gang
"During investigation, the Rajasthan Police's Crime Branch nabbed three accused, who had also demanded a ransom from the victims' families," said a senior police official. "On sustained interrogation, the accused confessed to having killed the children and dumping the bodies in a jungle behind Qutub Minar metro station," he said.
Aviation regulator DGCA has launched a probe into the Kedarnath helicopter crash in which seven people, including the pilot, were killed on Tuesday. The helicopter, carrying pilgrims, crashed after takeoff from the Kedarnath shrine near Garud Chatti in Rudraprayag at around 11.40 a.m.
Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the Gujarat government affidavit "proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the release was a political decision made with not just the knowledge but the concurrence of those in the highest echelons of power in the Modi government".
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that the national capital would get 100 electric vehicle charging stations in two months. The Chief Minister inaugurated 11 high-tech low-cost electric charging stations to promote the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the state.
