Jagraon-Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today appealed to Punjabis to support the voice of Punjab – the SAD and defeat centrist parties of Delhi to bring the focus back on Punjab and Punjabis.
During the Raikot and Jagraon leg of his ongoing Punjab Bachao Yatra which evoked a tremendous response in both constituencies with thousands of people coming out on the roads, the SAD president said “while the SAD is known to put Punjab first and safeguard the interests of the State, centrist forces are known to always discriminate against Punjabis”. Asserting that the SAD was the only party which stood for the welfare of all sections of people, be it the poor, farmers and trade and industry, Mr Badal said “we have consistently demonstrated our commitment to ameliorating the lot of the poor and farmers by bringing in novel schemes like aata-daal and shagun besides free power for farmers. We are also responsible for introducing old age pensions in the State”.
Accompanied by senior leader S R Cler in Jagraon and Balwinder Singh Sandhu in Raikot, Mr Badal said both the Congress and AAP had done nothing, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “I am on record of having asked the Congress legislature party leader on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha to name one big development work done by the erstwhile Congress government and received an answer that the government did patchwork of roads. This AAP government has not even done patchwork of roads, all of which are in shambles as also are civic amenities in all towns and cities”.
Stating that both the Congress and AAP were in an unholy alliance, Mr Badal said “attempts are being made to befool Punjabis with a mock fight in Punjab, even as chief minister Bhagwant Mann is sharing stages with the Congress in Delhi. Cautioning the people against both the parties, Mr Badal said “Bhagwant Mann imposed NSA against our youth in the same manner as the Congress party”. He said like the Congress which had attacked Sri Darbar Sahib, Bhagwant Mann had ordered an attack on Gurdwara Akal Bunga at Sultanpur Lodhi.
Speaking about the suffering of Punjabis, Mr Badal said “the drug menace is at an all time high because AAP legislators are themselves taking monthlies from smugglers and preventing the police from taking action against them”. He said the collapse of the law and order had resulted in the rise of gangster raj and the culture of extortions which had already led to a flight of capital from Punjab to other States. He said the AAP government had also failed to do any development as all State funds were earlier used in election campaigns in other States or to defend Arvind Kejriwal as was being done now.
Leaders accompanying the SAD president included Gurcharan Grewal and Prabhjot Singh Dhaliwal.