CHANDIGARH, January 07:
The Punjab Government on Thursday, issued a defamation notice under sections 499, 500, 501 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to the Editor-in-Chief Parkash Singh Salwara and Editor Tilak Raj Sharma of the Daily Newspaper Sach Kahun for publishing misleading news regarding farming laws on January 5, 2021.
Spokesperson said that the newspaper had tried to disturb the law and order situation in the state by reporting the news citing the Punjab Government had silently implemented the new agriculture laws of the Central Government.
He said that while the reality is quite the opposite and the Punjab Government had unanimously passed a resolution in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on October 20, 2020 to repeal these three laws from the outset and on the same day the Punjab Government passed three new laws namely Farmer (Empowerment and Protection), Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment), 2020, Farmer Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) (Special Provision and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Special Provision and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020 to protect the interests of the farmers.
The spokesperson said that no new private mandi has been set up in Punjab and a total of 203.96 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured in the government mandis during the paddy procurement season in the state out of which only 1.14 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured by private millers while, the rest of the crop was procured by the FCI and other government procurement agencies in the state. Besides, legal action was also taken against about 100 traders who tried to import and sell paddy in Punjab from other states, he added.
The spokesperson further said that the news published by the newspaper had not only tarnished the image of the Punjab Government and the Food and Civil Supplies Department of the state but could provoke the peaceful protestors against these laws to revolt against the government. He said the news was also being used for false propaganda on the social media platforms
The spokesperson said that the Punjab government fully supports the freedom of press but such misleading news cannot be accepted.
