Former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia Wednesday accused CM Amarinder Singh of playing fixed match with Centre and said that he never tried to oppose Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for government purchase of foodgrains. “All the CM did was ask for one year to implement the scheme which makes it clear that he was all along gearing up to implement the orders of the Modi government. This is why he never met the Prime Minister to oppose the imposition of the scheme in Punjab,” Majithia said, adding that the DBT scheme, which proposed transfer of payment for procurement of food grains to farmer accounts instead of through ‘arhtiyas’, was also mooted by the earlier Congress-led UPA government. “However then CM Parkash Singh Badal had prevailed upon Dr Manmohan Singh not to impose the scheme on Punjab,” he said. Majithia said the Malout incident in which Abohar legislator Arun Narang was attacked was the direct result of the Congress government’s inability to provide security to its citizens. He said the administration had been caught napping and the state police had failed to do its duty. “Both the Punjab DGP and the Muktsar district police chief should be suspended,” he said. Majithia asked the BJP also to introspect as to why it was creating a situation which was leading to such incidents. He said farm protesters would also have to exercise restraint but said it was also wrong to impose attempt to murder charges on them.
