Punjab Congress today alleged that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was entering into political alliances only to "protect" his vested business interests rather than on any ideological basis.
Akali Dal was in alliance with the BJP in the state and at the Centre but the party was opposing its own alliance partner in neighbouring Haryana where it was in partnership with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), citing family ties, while in essence business interests were at the core, Punjab Congress Chief Pratap Singh Bajwa said here in a statement.
He said Badal had been "trading" the Haryana Sikhs for the business interests of his family and it was for this reason that he had misused every Sikh institution to oppose the formation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee as this was going to end his monopoly.
Bajwa said the formation of HSGPC had fulfilled longstanding demand of the Haryana Sikhs to manage their own shrines.
He said the population of the Sikhs was second highest in Haryana after Punjab but till now, they lacked such a platform and hence they were getting ignored.
He announced that the Congress would launch agitation shortly on the issues concerning the farmers, the immediate one being reduction in the moisture limit from 15 to 14 per cent which would create problems, especially in the context of late monsoons.
"This step of Centre will virtually destroy the Rice Shelling industry in Punjab and farmers will have to face lot of hardships to sell the paddy crop," he said.
