FATEHGARH SAHIB: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the SAD alone could bring the State back on the road to development even as he appealed to Punjabis to compare the work done by successive SAD governments with that of the erstwhile Congress and present Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments which had taken Punjab back by twenty years.
The SAD president, who led the Punjab Bachao Yatra into Fatehgarh Sahib and Amloh constituencies during the course of which thousands of people met and greeted Mr Sukhbir Badal at various stops, said “Punjabis should decide whom they want to elect to power. A regional party with a proven track record of speedy development and unique social welfare schemes which cater to all sections of society, or scam ridden Congress and AAP governments which have made life hell for them”.
Accompanied by Jagdeeep Singh Cheema in Fatehgarh Sahib and Gurpreet Singh Raju Khanna in Amloh, the SAD president said “the SAD is known to fulfill all promises made to the people – be it free power for farmers, old age pension scheme, aata-daal scheme or shagun scheme – all of which were initiated by it. In comparison the erstwhile Congress government promised a complete loan waiver to farmers but failed to keep its promise”. He said the present AAP government had promised to eradicate the menace of drugs in weeks but had presided over the expansion of the drug trade in the State. “Punjab does not need such anti-Punjab governments who take their orders from Delhi”, he added.
Youth Akali Dal president Sarabjit Singh Jhinjar, Bikramjit Singh Khalsa, Manmohan Singh Makaropur, Sharanjit Singh Chanarthal and Amit Rathi were prominent among others accompanied the party president.
Asserting that Punjabis had seen through the conspiracies which were hatched to weaken the State’s only regional party, Mr Badal said “this is the reason why they are thronging in such large numbers to welcome the Punjab Bachao Yatra”. He said Delhi based parties would never stand for or address the core issues of Punjab. “The SAD on the other hand has taken a principled stand to safeguard the interests of Punjabis at all costs”.
The SAD president in a strident attack on chief minister Bhagwant Mann, said the latter had not only bankrupted Punjab but had presided over the total collapse of law and order and flight of industry from the State. He said despite taking a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore loan in the last two years the AAP government did not have anything to show by way of development. He said the investment climate had also been destroyed due to gangster culture and steep rise in extortions. “This is the reason that there has been a flight in capital worth Rs 20, 000 crore from Punjab to other States like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh during the last two years”. He assured the people at various stops during the Yatra that once the SAD formed the government in the State it would end gangster raj as well as the menace of drugs. “We are also committed to making the State an attractive investment destination to galvanise the industry and create job opportunities”, Mr Badal added.