Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said his office was yet to receive "any official or formal communication" for a meeting from senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh, who had announced to gherao the Chief Minister's official residence here.
Singh, who is Deputy Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, has announced to lead a gherao of Badal's residence on August 21 to press the demand of payment of dues to sugarcane growers and the delay in payment of compensation to the farmers whose crops were damaged due to unseasonal rain and flooding.
In a statement here today Badal said, "My doors are always open to everyone including former chief minister Amarinder Singh... We have not yet received any official or formal communication from Singh for a meeting."
The Chief Minister said, "We have read about it only in the media. However, Singh is most welcome for talks." Badal categorically said that he was ever ready to welcome anyone who comes at his residence or office to meet him and he would be too happy to accord "warm welcome" to Singh.
The Chief Minister reiterated that he would make every possible effort for early resolution of the issues raised by Singh to his satisfaction.
The gherao and dharna of Congress MP Singh will be attended by sitting and former MPs, MLAs, PCC and DCC presidents and other party leaders.
Amarinder has claimed that sugarcane farmers have not been paid since December last even though ideally the farmers should be getting the payment for their produce within 15 days, but now eight months have passed and there has not been any payment made to them so far. Similarly, he said, the government was yet to pay compensation to farmers whose wheat crops were damaged during the recent unseasonal reasons.
Blaming the Chief Minister for the delay, he said the Punjab government should take a cue from other states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand which have come forward to compensate the farmers. "If the other states can do it why can't Punjab?" he asked.
