Badal shielding corrupt officials, claims Jakhar - SAYS AGRI MINISTER TOTA SINGH STANDS EXPOSED IN PESTICIDE PURCHASE SCAM
Saturday, 26/09/2015
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Sunil Jakhar on Friday blamed chief minister Parkash Singh Badal for ruining the agrarian economy of the state, accusing him of shielding corrupt officials of the agriculture department in the ongoing probe into the cotton crop failure.
In a statement here, Jakhar criticised Badal for asserting in the Vidhan Sabha on Thursday that farmers in the Malwa region had suffered crop loss due to a natural calamity.
The Congress leader stated that corrupt officers and agriculture minister Tota Singh stood exposed in the pesticide purchase scam. He said the Congress had prepared a ‘chargesheet’, seeking an explanation from the ruling politicians. Jakhar further stated that the pesticide manufactured by Markfed would have cost `258 per acre against `700 per acre from the private market.
“The Oberon pesticide was tested at a Panchkula lab instead of getting it tested by a state-run lab in Punjab. Is it not true that multinational company Bayer Crop Sciences had reportedly marketed a product of Swastika Company instead of manufacturing the pesticide in question?” he asked.
Jakhar stated that how could farmers rely on the chief minister’s claim that it was a natural calamity, since the state government was yet to disburse compensation worth `717 crore for losses suffered in February-March due to incessant rain.
“How can the CM, who did not dare to raise farmers’ issues with the Prime Minister on the latter’s visits to Ferozepur and Mohali this year, be expected to convince the Centre to release adequate compensation for the farming community, which has suffered for three consecutive crops?” he asked.
