*(Dr Daljit Singh Cheema asks CM to direct State police to act against perpetrators of seed scam which was busted by the State Agriculture department)*
*Chandigarh, May 24( Wishavwarta )-–* The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today urged chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to break his silence and direct the State police to act against the perpetrators of the seed scam which had been busted by the State Agriculture department under which spurious paddy seeds of breeder varieties were sold to farmers at severely inflated rates.
In a statement here, former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said even though a FIR was registered on May 11 and paddy breeder seeds of PR-128 and PR-129 were seized from a seed store in Ludhiana; no follow up action has been taken in the matter till now. “It seems the police has adopted a go slow policy and has not made any arrests in the case after it came to light that the breeder seed producer who supplied the seed to the Ludhiana store enjoyed the patronage of Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa”.
The SAD leader said since the chief minister held the Agriculture portfolio it was incumbent upon him to pass orders to ensure the interest of the farming community was not compromised in any manner. “A major scam has come to light under which a paddy seed breeder who is close to a Cabinet minister has supplied spurious seeds to farmers at a cost of Rs 200 per kg against the price of Rs 70 per kg charged by PAU, Ludhiana Krishi Centres. Farmers want quick action in the matter and are also anxious to know about the quality of the seeds which have been supplied to them. It is unfortunate that instead of encouraging all affected farmers to come forward and investigating whether the seeds were multiplied with due approvals, the police complaint is being allowed to die a slow death. This has caused consternation among farmers who are already in extreme distress”, Dr Cheema added.
Dr Cheema said the chief minister could order a time bound SIT inquiry into the entire issue immediately besides taking steps for an independent probe by a central agency to get to the bottom of the scam. “Both steps will send a clear cut message that the chief minister is sensitive to the suffering of the farming community and that he will not hesitate to take action against anyone, however high he may be”, he added.