AICC secretary and MLA, Jalandhar Cantt, Pargat Singh, on Wednesday said that instead of entering into a direct confrontation with the SGPC over missing saroops, the AAP government should take action in the sacrilege cases at Bargari and Behbal Kalan and the Maur blast.
Breaking his silence on the issue, he said the ruling party should not interfere in the issue and let the SGPC handle it. “Rather it should concentrate on bringing the perpetrators of the sacilage to book,” he added.
The former Education Minister said the real sacrilege happened in Bargari and Behbal Kalan. Despite claiming to have approved prosecution against the Dera Sacha Sauda, the Punjab Government has taken no concrete action. “The government is avoiding responsibility where the real sacrilege took place and is instead politicising internal religious affairs. These actions are not in the interest of the nation, society, or the Sikh community,” he quipped.
Speaking on the Central government’s changes in the MGNREGA framework and related corruption issues, Pargat Singh said, “The reality is that during the BJP government’s tenure, even 50 days of employment out of the guaranteed 100 could not be achieved. Now the limit has been increased to 125 days, which is unsustainable. The Centre should have focused first on achieving the 100-day target effectively and reducing corruption within the scheme.”
He further added that in the past three years, the Punjab Government had achieved an average of only 38 days of employment under MGNREGA, and only 26 days this year so far.
“Last year, a total of Rs 99,000 crore was spent on MGNREGA across India, of which Rs 10,000 crore came from state governments. In Punjab, Rs 1,450 crore was spent, including Rs 99 crore from the state’s coffers. If the current trend continues, Punjab’s share this year will rise to Rs 550 crore,” he said.
Taking a dig at the AAP government’s so-called campaign against drugs, Pargat Singh said, “Today, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal launched the second phase of the anti-drug campaign in Jalandhar. Can he explain whether the drug menace was eradicated in the first phase? Why is there a need for a second phase?” He added that the Punjab Government keeps announcing scripted drives that last only a week or 10 days