Jaito, March 20 – Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president today asserted the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were the twin dangers facing Punjab and appealed to Punjabis to uproot them from the State once and for all in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking to people during the course of the Punjab Bachao Yatra at Kotkapura and Jaito where he received an enthusiastic response from people from all walks of life, the SAD president said “the Congress and AAP have both looted Punjab during the last seven years. Only the SAD can put the State back on the path of development. The SAD is the need of the day and I appeal to you to support the party for a better future of the State”.
Mr Sukhbir Badal, who received a huge response in Bargari village and also addressed a gathering in the village, detailed how farmers, youth, scheduled caste and backward classes and trade and industry had all suffered during the last seven years. “The Congress party promised to waive off farmer loans but did nothing. Bhagwant Mann promised to give compensation for crop damage in advance but has not awarded any compensation to farmers despite three crop failures”. He also detailed how social welfare benefits were gradually withdrawn by both the Congress and AAP governments. “Now things have come to such a pass that lakhs of people have been taken out of the ambit of the aata-daal and old age pension scheme so as to finance AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal’s travels and election campaigns”.
Mr Badal, who was accompanied by senior leaders Mantar Singh Brar in Kotkapura constituency and Suba Singh Badal in Jaito, also spoke about the drug menace which was sweeping the State. He said hundreds of youth had fallen prey to drug overdoses but nothing was being done to nab the traffickers. “This is because the police are being prevented from taking action against the traffickers because they are taking monthlies from them”. He also cited how Punjab industrialists instead of investing in the State had invested Rs 20,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh and other States. “New investment is not coming into Punjab because of the breakdown of law and order and gangster raj”, he added.
Mr Badal, who was accompanied by senior leaders Mantar Singh Brar in Kotkapura constituency and Suba Singh Badal in Jaito, said the AAP government had done nothing for Faridkot parliamentary constituency. “The entire rural road network is in shambles even as people are being denied civic amenities”. He said this was the reason why AAP had to fall back on fielding an outsider who was being shunned by the people.
Numerous people came up to the SAD president and complained about receiving huge power bills ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000. Many people from disadvantaged sections of society related how the government had not released money due to them under the Shagun scheme since the last two years. Mr Badal assured them that the SAD was coming up with a pro-poor and pro-Punjab manifesto which would mitigate all their problems.
At Jaito, Gurchet Singh Bargari and Yadwinder Singh Yadi, and at Kotkapura Sher Singh Mandwala, Jaspal Singh Maur, Surinder Singh Sandhu, Kultar Singh Brar and Anupartap Singh Brar were prominent among others who accompanied the party president.