DW BUREAU / Chandigarh The SHIROMANI Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday asked Pradesh Congress President Sunil Jakhar to tell why he was misleading the farmers by telling lies about the end of the minimum support price (MSP) and assured marketing policy and asked him to instead fight for the rights of farmers by getting the recent hikes in State VAT on diesel withdrawn by the Congress government. Asking Sunil Jakhar not to befool farmers, former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema asked the Pradesh Congress President to first tell if the msp and assured marketing policy were in force or not in the State? "If both are in force and the food grain produce of the Punjab farmer will be procured as per the minimum support price in its entirety then what is Jakhar protesting against," the SAD leader asked. Stating that this was not the first time that the Congress was spreading canards about the msp and the assured marketing policy, Dr Cheema asked Jakhar to spell out if he would resign from his post if the next paddy crop was procured as per msp in the State. He said Jakhar had created a bogey of withdrawal of msp even after Union Agriculture minister N S Tomar had come out with a clear cut statement saying it would stay and that the Congress party was deliberately misreading the Farmer Produce, Trade and Commerce Ordinance. Dr Cheema said as far as the SAD was concerned, the central government has pledged that MSP and assured marketing were here to stay. "We have also announced that there will be no compromise on these twin issues. The new Act also provides adequate, inbuilt and foolproof guarantees for the continuation of msp and assured marketing regime on a long term basis." Dr Cheema said in the face of these facts, it would be better if Jakhar started a real 'jan andolan' against his government for putting an extra burden on farmers. (editor@dailyworld.in)