DW BUREAU / chandigarh The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said the farmers of Punjab would never forgive Congress President Rahul Gandhi for striking a deal to sell off the interests of farmers by facilitating the passage of the Agri Acts and asked him to stop cheap 'tamashas' and direct his party's government in Punjab to fulfill the promises made to the 'annadaata'. Terming Rahul's visit to Punjab as a classic case of "nau sau chuhe kha ki billi haj ko chali", senior SAD leader Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra said "You Rahul Gandhi did not only run away from the country when the Agri Bills were to be tabled in parliament in the most cowardly manner but also facilitated their passage by refusing to issue a whip to your mps to vote against them and even preventing senior leaders from speaking against the Bills in parliament. But for your cowardice the Bills could have been stopped, but you chose to help the BJP government rather than standing with the farmers of the country." Stating that Rahul had now been brought to Punjab to stage a sham protest after the Congress party realized that the farmers would now turn against it, Prof Chandumajra asked the Congress leader why he had refused to answer even one of the five questions posed to him by party President Sukhbir Singh Badal. He said even the Youth Akali Dal (YAD) had put up these posers across the State to ensure Rahul could read them loud and clear during his sham 'yatra'. "You chose not to answer any of the questions because you know in your heart that not only are you a coward but that you have come to support a liar in the form of your chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh who did not even hesitate to swear a false oath in the name of the holy Gutka Sahib and the 'Dasam Pitah'. You situation can only be pitied. You did not even have the guts to direct your chief minister to fulfill the promises made to the people, be it waiving off farm loans, ensuring Rs 2,500 per acre compensation to farmers for not burning paddy stubble and ensuring release of Rs 450 crore due to sugarcane growers of the State." Also questioning the timing of the visit today, the SAD leader said it was strange that Rahul Gandhi had remembered Punjab and its farmers after a spate of years only because his party was in doldrums with only a little over a year left before the polls. "You seem to be in the habit of remembering farmers only when a particular State goes to the polls as happened during your pre-poll visit to Madhya Pradesh earlier. You never visited Punjab when hundreds of farmers committed suicide after your government refused to waiver off their agricultural loans. You did nothing for the victim families and refused to come to the State to wipe off their tears. You also did not visit the State when 325 persons were killed by the Congress liquor mafia including your close confidant and the chief minsiter's religious advisor Paramjit Singh Sarna. Even today you had no qualms letting minister Sukhjinder Randhawa who was responsible for robbing farmers through the 'nakli beej' scam to manage your stage when you visited Punjab ostensibly in solidarity with farmers." Prof Chandumajra said it was also condemnable that Rahul Gandhi adopted a double policy on issues concerning discrimination done to Dalits. He said Rahul gave lip service to the cause of Dalits but did not say a single word against the embezzlement of SC scholarship funds worth Rs 69 crore by SC Welfare minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot. (editor@dailyworld.in)