Punjab Seed Scam: Act against big fish, says BJP leader Tarun Chugh
Says his party is committed to stand by the farmers and would not allow the issue to be deflated
cityairnews
Jun 8, 2020 07:05
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Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for unnecessarily criticizing Central ordinances issued by the Union Government for the benefit of farmers of the country.
Tarun Chugh, the national secretary of the BJP, said the Chief Minister knows the protection and benefits the new ordinances was bound to provide to the farmers, but was attacking the Union Government to divert the attention from the much-hyped Punjab Seed Scam worth thousands of crores.
The unverified and non-seed fake varieties sold and supplied to the farmers of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu by some unscrupulous elements with the patronage of people in the position of power had not only exposed the system but also impacted the farmers in financial terms.
“The Punjab government owes an explanation to the people of the state as to how the secret code of the seed shared by PAU with Punjab Agriculture Department got leaked,” Chugh said.
Seeking immediate and strict legal action against the culprits and the perpetrators of the scam, Chugh said people of the state have every right to know how fake seed was prepared and under whose patronage and support it was allowed to be marketed not only in Punjab but neighbouring states also.
“It needs a thorough probe to bring out the truth but Chief Minister’s action smacks of something else. While some people are being made scapegoats, the big fish were being allowed to roam free to defend and protect the culprits,” he said.
“Have the farmers, who were cheated upon, not the right to know who decoded the varieties and who provided political shelter to play such a dangerous game with their fortune and future?”, Chugh asked.
The BJP leader said 14 out of 15 tested samples have failed and a drama was being enacted to save skin of the big fish. “No one can dare to play such a big fraud on the farmers of various states without the guarantee of political shelter by someone in power,” he said adding that it also needs to be probed why the authorities slept over the issue and failed to check the scam when it was in the making.
Chugh said, Chief Minister was misleading the people of the state on this Scam even as he fully knows the seriousness of the issue and the damage it could have done.
“The Chief Minister is known for handing over Clean Chits to his colleagues in the government and the members of his party and it would not be a surprise if he repeats the same this time too,” Chugh said adding that his party was committed to stand by the farmers and would not allow the issue to be deflated.
