CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today announced the next SAD government would implement a special industrial package in the Kandi area besides establishing a Kandi Area Development ministry once it formed the government in 2027.
Making this announcement while addressing a massive gathering, which did not stir from the rally ‘pandal’ despite heavy rain, along with senior leader Harminder Singh Sandhu, the SAD president said the SAD is committed to implementing a special industrial package for the Kandi belt, including power and tax subsidies, besides creating twin highways from Pathankot to Chandigarh and Amritsar to Anandpur Sahib to improve road connectivity in the region.
Mr Sukhbir Badal announced the SAD would also form a Kandi Area Development ministry once it formed the government. “The ministry will focus on developing the Kandi region and would focus on establishing government tubewells and provide drip irrigation and underground pipe facilities to farmers”.
The SAD leader also spoke on how law and order had reached its nadir in the AAP regime with ministers ganging up with gangsters to intimidate and extort. He said the situation had reached such a stage that chief minister Bhagwant Mann had broken all access with the people and was busy in fulfilling AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal’s agenda. “Bhagwant Mann now does not even have the confidence to visit his own village without implementing a lockdown and confiscating all weapons in the village and nearby areas”. He also chided the chief minister for such a situation in which Arhatiyas from Punjab were giving representations to a chief minister of a neighbouring State”.
Mr Badal also spoke of the rampant corruption unleashed by the AAP government. He said AAP was holding political rallies at government expense and spending crores on tents, chairs and catering. “Half of the crores of rupees being given for each rally to a Delhi party are taken back in the form of commission”. He also castigated AAP for making fraudulent claims during the ongoing electioneering in Gujarat. He said Bhagwant Mann claimed that the AAP government had established Mandis after every four villages in Punjab while Arvind Kejriwal said the AAP government had started giving an allowance of Rs 1, 000 per month to women.
Demanding an explanation from the chief minister for lying blatantly about Rs 1.5 lakh crores investment during AAP tenure when only Rs 2600 crore investment had been done as per RTI information, Mr Badal said the SAD had been consistently asserting that investors were scared to invest in Punjab due to the culture of extortions and gangster raj. “We are committed to resorting rule of law and giving concessions to the industry to kickstart investment in the State in 2027 and will ensure the industry hires at least 75 per cent Punjabis as employees”.