CHANDIGARH, Dec 17:
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh “deliberately lied” by promising farmers a loan waiver which he cannot implement even if he comes to power.
“You (Amarinder) promised farmers in Punjab that you would get their loans waived off when you come to power. However, even before the elections could be held you were seen at the PM’s door begging the Prime Minister to waive off these loans,” he said.
Either Amarinder knew that he could not waive off the loans or he “deliberately lied” to the people of Punjab. “It is now up to you to come clean on this issue”, Sukhbir said while addressing newsmen here.
Yesterday, the Punjab Congress chief raised the issue of economic plight of debt-ridden Punjab farmers before Modi and sought his support to alleviate the debt and other woes of the farmers. The SAD president said it was not the first time that the Congress had lied to the people by making tall promises.
“Earlier your (Congress) leaders promised people before the polls that they would give five acres of land free of cost to the landless but did nothing once elected to power,” he said.
He said it seemed Amarinder had bitten more than he could chew. “Why didn’t you do anything on this front (farmers’ loan) during the ten year of UPA rule? Did you (Amarinder) even make a single representation to your own Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or your party president Sonia Gandhi on this issue”, he asked.
Sukhbir said, “Has any Congress government in a State made any effort to waive farmers’ dues?…Forget initiating any loan or even interest waiver exercise, you (Amarinder) even endangered the entire farm economy of Punjab by withdrawing the free power facility extended to farmers by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,” he said. (PTI)
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