Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday said that peace, communal harmony and development would be the main agenda of the ruling SAD-BJP combine in the state for the upcoming state Assembly polls.
Addressing Sangat Darshan gatherings in Patiala (Rural) Assembly segment, Badal said that peace and communal harmony were the "catalysts" of development and that is why the state government has accorded "top priority" to preserving and strengthening these values.
He claimed that his government had taken "historic" initiatives for the well-being of each and every strata of the society. Besides strengthening the bonds of brotherhood and amity, the government had ensured "all-round" development of Punjab in the last decade due to which the state was "leading the country in every sector", he said.
Badal said that following the path of socialism and secularism, the alliance government had introduced a number of schemes such as Atta-Dal, Shagun, Pension, Mai Bhago Vidya etc. for the welfare of the weaker sections of the society.
likewise, he said that the government had performed the onerous task of preserving the glorious history of Punjab by constructing several memorials.
lashing out at the Congress, Badal alleged that the "high-handedness" of the party with regard to the state had even surpassed "the record of the Mughals and British" as the "anti-Punjab" party had "irrelevantly meddled not only in the social, economic and political issues, but even the religious matters of the state".
He said that no true Punjabi could ever forgive the party for "sins such as Operation Blue Star and killing of innocents in the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage".
The chief minister alleged that the Congress had inflicted a severe blow to Punjabis by "depriving them of their capital, legitimate share in river waters and even Punjabi-speaking areas".
He slammed the party for "hatching the conspiracy to rob the state of its waters by digging the Sutlej Yamuna link (SYl) canal".
Badal reiterated that Punjab neither had spare water to share with anyone, nor was there any need to construct the SYl canal and that "nobody would be allowed" to construct it in the future.
Taking Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to cudgels, he said that it was anti-Punjab and anti-people in character. He reminded the people that AAP leadership was also hell bent upon turning the state into desert by robbing its water.
later interacting with the media persons, the Chief Minister said that the demonetization move of NDA Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would prove very beneficial for the countrymen as this step has been taken in larger interest of the country.
