Punjab Congress President Partap Singh Bajwa today demanded arrest of Agriculture Minister Tota Singh in connection with the alleged pesticide scam in the state.
He also called for a CBI probe in this "deep-rooted scam" and sought resignation of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal over the issue.
He alleged that agriculture director Mangal Singh Sandhu, who was arrested recently, has just been made a "scapegoat" to "save higher-ups" and the scandal must be exposed.
Bajwa said that Rs 33 crore purchase of sub-standard pesticides was just one aspect as the scandal that he claimed led to a total loss of about "Rs 5,000 crore" to the state.
The PPCC chief asked Badal as to why Tota Singh was reinducted into the cabinet after his resignation in the wake of his conviction by a court on the charge of committing irregularities in the past. He also demanded that Tota Singh be arrested.
Bajwa, who is presently touring the cotton belt, said it was surprising that the fields in the Rajasthan villages adjoining Punjab were not at all affected and that state was having a bumper crop.
Even the cotton field next to Punjab villages were healthy," he said.
He said it was only in areas where spurious fertilisers had been sprayed had been ruined.
Bajwa said it was in this context that the compensation announced by the state government was far less.
He said as the scam was deep rooted, the investigation must be handed over to the CBI otherwise the alleged involvement of the political leadership would not be probed.
He demanded compensation to the farmers at the rate of Rs 40,000 per acre and to the farm workers at the rate of Rs 5000 per family member.
He urged the Chief Minister to get a special package of Rs 51,000 crore from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the farmers and reminded him that Manmohan Singh as UPA Prime Minister had released Rs 42,000 crore for this purpose.
While demanding implementation of Swaminathan Committee report, he asked for Rs 5000 per quintal as the price for basmati rice.
