Cong-loyal businessmen forced to ally with SAD

MUKTSAR(PUNJAB): Fearing political reprisal, a large number of businessmen who are Congress supporters here are distancing themselves from the party’s September 1 political rally at Lambi. So much so that many of their staunch supporters have formally joined the SAD after they were persistently harassed by Punjab Pollution Control Board, PSEB, sales tax and food and supply departments in the past 18 months. Though Congress workers and leaders in Malwa region are euphoric over the rally programme but in Muktsar, Gidderbaha and Malout a large number of rice millers, cotton and ginning factory owners, pesticide dealers and other businessmen are keeping away from the rally preparations, fearing SAD vengeance.

Family of a Congress supporter, who runs rice mills and known for their party loyalty for the past many decades, were forced to allign with the SAD as the pollution control board threatened to close their rice mills while power supply was disconnected on flimsy grounds. Similar is the story of some ginning factory owners.Even in October 2007 some Congress workers and leaders of Gidderbaha, who were into the business of rice mills, had approached Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging that the food and supply department was prejudiced towards them in the allotment of paddy for milling. The millers alleged that on the direction of Akali leaders in the area, the Congress-backed millers were not being allotted paddy. A pesticide dealer in Gidderbaha who could not face the harassment closed his business.

The millers who accused the food and supply department of bias last year included two sons of senior Congress party leader Raghubir Singh, who contested MLA election on Congress ticket from Gidderbaha against finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal. Other petitioners included Ashok Dhir, senior Congress leader and former chairman Punseed, Subash Jain Lily, a senior party leader and president, Muktsar Rice Millers Association, and Kulwant Singh Maan, president, municipal committee, Gidderbaha.

Source : Times Of India