Chandigarh, Feb 9 (IANS) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday described AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal a "snake in the grass let loose in Punjab by corporate and the anti-Sikh lobbies".
Talking to the media here, Harcharan Bains, Principal Adviser to SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal, asked farm organisations and their leaders, including Joginder Singh Ugrahan and Balbir Singh Rajewal, to wake up to the shocking reality that although the farmers movement forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government to revoke the three "black" farm laws, the most dangerous of these laws is still in force in Delhi with Kejriwal refusing to annul it in the state assembly.
He said, "It is shocking that while the entire country has rejected these laws, Kejriwal typically quietly keeps them in force. One can well imagine what his true anti-farmer intent and agenda in Punjab is."
Bains said Kejriwal "has also filed a case against Punjab farmers and sought a fine of Rs 1 crore per case of stubble warning even when the Supreme Court itself refused to blame the Delhi pollution on the farmers of Punjab and even delivered a rebuff to the Delhi Chief Minister".
The Akali Dal spokesman said that while the AAP leader is promising to abolish private bus operators and ending the mafia raj in liquor trade, the fact is that he has "virtually killed" the DTC in his own state.
"As for stopping liquor trade from passing into the hands of the mafia through public distribution and sale by the government-run liquor shops, Kejriwal has handed over the entire liquor trade to the liquor mafia patronised by big business houses," Bains added.
A Delhi court on Thursday directed Delhi Police to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) on a petition seeking an FIR against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for his alleged controversial remarks against the protesting farmers.
The Uttar Pradesh government has given a six months' extension to the special investigation team (SIT) probing the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. The SIT had sought extension and the state government has given time to the SIT to complete the investigation and make arrests by May 2022.
This comes just days after the COP26 climate summit, where India pledged to cut emissions to net zero by 2070, reduce carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030, and raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 50 per cent, among others, before staging a last-minute climbdown opposing a commitment to "phase out" coal.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, to monitor the Lakhimpur Kheri violence probe and to ensure fairness and independence in the investigation.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked petitions against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order, which upheld the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as Punjab Director General of Police.
Punjab has always stood against external intrusions and hence must be considered as a security case, not just as an economic case at the time of budgetary allocation, state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said here on Tuesday. Badal made the demand during a virtual discussion with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on stepping up investment, infrastructure and growth in the country.
