SAD to contest "false" cases registered against Akalis

Accusing the Congress government in the state of committing "excesses" against Akali activists by getting them booked, opposition SAD said today that it would help party workers by contesting "false" cases lodged against them.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also announced that it would launch a 'jabar virodhi lehar' to raise its voice against the "excesses" committed against its workers.
The SAD passed a resolution during a meeting of its political affairs committee (PAC), chaired by party patron Parkash Singh Badal, as per which party president Sukhbir Singh Badal would launch an agitation from Dear Baba Nanak on July 25.

Sukhbir would also visit families affected by Congress "excesses" across the state, the party said in a release.
The SAD president said it was his bounden duty to stand with the Akali rank and file.
"The SAD will start a mass movement to force the Congress government to stop its workers from targeting the Akalis. We will form committees in all districts to help victims. We are also evolving a system to contest false cases against our workers besides conducting an exercise to evaluate the extent of the false cases", he said.

On the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said that earlier also Punjab's river waters had been taken away from the state during Congress rule.

"We would like to make it clear to everyone that Punjab does not have any excess water and that there is no question of construction of the SYL canal. This will not be allowed under any circumstances," he said.
The PAC passed a resolution warning Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh not to agree on any negotiation with Haryana on this issue.
The former chief minister also announced on the occasion that he would personally meet Akali workers to listen to their grievances twice a month in the party office.
The first such set of meetings will take place on August 1 and 2 and on August 16 and 17.

The SAD committee also took note of the two commissions formed by the Congress government to probe sacrilege cases and "false" cases respectively.
The party said it rejects both the commissions.
It was also decided that a delegation of MPs and senior leaders under the leadership of the SAD president would meet union finance minister Arun Jaitley and request him that all new taxes imposed under the new GST system including those on 'langar' purchases by the SGPC and other religious institutions as well as on agriculture inputs and machinery, be withdrawn.
The SAD committee said while the party would fulfil its responsibility, the onus of getting all these taxes withdrawn was on the state government.

"States have 66 per cent weightage in the GST council, which has the power to review the new taxes. It must exercise its power to get these taxes withdrawn immediately," it added.