BJP-led alliance promises to waive debt of Punjab farmers
Darpan News Desk IANS, 04 Feb, 2022 12:56 PM
Chandigarh, Feb 4 (IANS) Eyeing to woo the farmers, who constitute an influential electoral cohort, the BJP-Punjab Lok Congress-Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) alliance on Friday released 11 resolutions for Punjab Assembly polls with a promise to waive the debt of farmers having less than five acres of land.
It promised a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to families hit by terrorism, if the alliance comes to power in the February 20 poll.
Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma said the alliance government will set up a special task force to probe the sacrilege incidents and fast-track courts to try such cases.
The alliance promised to provide quality education, a government college in every tehsil and introducing the right to skill education.
Two-time Chief Minister and Punjab Lok Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh said the NDA government in Punjab would increase an ex-gratia grant given to soldiers who lay down their lives fighting for the nation to Rs 1 crore from Rs 50 lakh.
The alliance promised to introduce new technologies to curb the mining and liquor mafia and the Lokayukta to take on corruption cases, besides a task force to tackle the drug problem at the district level and a dope test for candidates contesting any elections.
About 2 crore voters of Punjab had voted the Congress, then led by Amarinder Singh, to a landslide victory in the 2017 Assembly election giving the party 77 seats in the 117-member Vidhan Sabha.
It later won three more seats in the bypolls held in October 2019, taking its strength to 80.
Assembly elections in Punjab will be held on February 20 and the counting of ballots on March 10.
While Akali Dal boycotted the meeting on the issue of farmers protest against the three farm laws, the Congress said that all the MPs should have been briefed and not only the floor leaders.
According to data shared by South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which is the nodal agency in this regard, from January 1 to July 17 this year, 40 cases of dengue have been registered.
"In light of rumours that the Mumbai Airport HQ will be moving to Ahmedabad, we unambiguously state that MIAL and NMIAL airports will remain headquarters in Mumbai," the Adani Group said in a statement.
Even as the farmers continue their protest at the borders of Delhi against the three Central farm laws, the government has reiterated its stand that it is "always open to discussion with farmers' unions and will remain open to discussion with the agitating farmers to resolve the issue".
Upping the ante against the Modi government over the Pegasus phone tapping issue, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said that the alleged snooping on the phones of Chief Ministers, politicians, judges and people violates multiple laws of the country and is a threat to national security.
Claiming that Amnesty International is directly involved in the Pegasus "international conspiracy" to malign the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday demanded that the Central government ban the activities of the organisation in India.
