Free Electricity Supply To Punjab Farmers Criticised

Former Punjab minister Amrinder Singh on Friday strongly criticised the Badal government for its decision to provide free electricity to the agriculture sector in the state.

Speaking to reporters, the former maharaja of Patiala, who recently rejoined the Congress, expressed the view that the Akali-BJP government was bent upon ruining the economy of the otherwise prosperous state by resorting to populist measures like free electricity to the farmers.

Singh was the agriculture minister in the Surjit Singh Barnala led-Akali government in 1985.

pointed out that Punjab would be suffering a loss of at least Rs 350 crores every year by giving free electricity to the agriculture sector. He mentioned that the Punjab State Electricity Board had already been incurring huge losses, mainly due to transmission and distribution losses and also due to mismanagement.

Singh also highlighted that the Centre had not so far taken a firm decision with regard to the waiver of Punjabs special term loan of Rs 8500 crores spent in fighting terrorism from 1984 onwards for more than a decade.

Answering questions, he did not rule out the possibility of return of terrorism in the border state. He said: Pakistan has not forgotten the humiliation in the creation of Bangladesh. The ISI of Pakistan is bent upon destabilising both Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. In Punjab, with senior Akali leaders like Gurcharan Singh Tohra, always strongly advocating the cause of the militants, the ISI can achieve its nefarious designs more easily.

He described the performance of the Badal government during the past six months as dismal. He observed: People are totally disillusioned and disappointed with the government. It is not performing at all. Tohra is virtually ruling Punjab today.