The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday asked Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to stop helicopter hopping for a few days and resolve grievances of the scheduled caste (SC) and weaker sections of the state.

In a statement, SAD spokesman Pawan Kumar Tinu said it was more than a week since the CM had heli-hopped to Bathinda to see the colossal damage done to the cotton crop over lakhs of acres of land.

He said Channi had promised prompt compensation but not a single farmer or farm labourers had received any compensation. “The state government is yet to conduct a survey to assess the damage done to the cotton crop,” the SAD leader added.

Tinu said reports emanating from the Malwa region indicated that the khet mazdoor (farm labourers) were in dire straits due to the destruction of the cotton crop and had lost their means of livelihood.

He said the ascendency of Channi to the chief minister’s position had been seen with optimism by the scheduled caste and weaker sections of society. “There was a feeling that the new chief minister would expedite all social welfare schemes relating to the weaker sections besides ensuring justice against wrongs committed against the scheduled caste population” but hopes of the community have been belied,” Tinu said.

“The chief minister has not expedited dispersals under any social welfare scheme including the ‘shagun’ scheme and old-age pension scheme. Even lakhs of blue cards given to below poverty line families, which were scrapped unjustly during Congress government tenure, have not been restored,” he added.

Even more importantly, the SAD leader said the scheduled caste community, particularly students, were looking up to Channi to deliver justice to them. “There was a feeling in the SC student community that Channi would order registration of a criminal case against former social welfare minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and order his immediate arrest for embezzling Rs 65 Crore meant for SC students besides wrongful distribution of crores of rupees to favoured institutions.

However this has not been done which eroded the faith of the SC students in Channi’s leadership,” he said.

Tinu requested the new CM to pay heed to the problems of the weaker sections and not allow him to be reduced to a puppet of the Gandhi family.

“Even now Channi is busy working as per the Gandhi family game plan to build the image of Priyanka Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh instead of working for the people of Punjab,” he said appealing the CM to stop heli-hopping for a few days and attend his office and work for the betterment of Punjabis.