Punjab Congress on Sunday declared that the party would knock the doors of Punjab and Haryana High Court to stop Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s Sangat Darshan programmes.
Asking Badal not to mislead people by his “political gimmicks”, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa said that his Sangat Darshan programme is only “an exercise to cover up the poor performance of SAD-BJP Government. It is a poor reflection on the administrative capability of Badal and his cabinet ministers”.
He said: “There is no system in place at district and state level to redress the grievances of a common man, said Bajwa, asking Badal to rename Sangat Darshan as “Akali Darshan”. “Badal has been acting like a medieval king trying to dole out bounties among his loyalists,” he stated. Defending his party MlAs for interceding Badal’s sangat Darshan programme, the State Congress chief said that they visited the programme “to expose the myth that Badal is holding these sessions to resolve public issues and to prove that it is a political stunt”.
“Badal expressed his arrogance by not inviting and listening to people’s elected representatives. He is just wasting public funds by distributing cheques of development funds and doing a job of block development officer or panchayat secretary,” said Bajwa. He added that ground realities in Punjab were very disturbing as SAD-BJP Government has failed to perform on all fronts. “The rural development, law and order, health, education and welfare schemes, everything is in shambles and people are reeling under heavy tax structure. An unrest prevailed among the State Government employees and educated unemployed youth,” said Bajwa.
Bajwa pointed out that Punjab’s growth rate has come down to lowest at 5.19 per cent in 2012-13 against from 9.05 percent in 2007-08 when SAD-BJP Government took over. “Industrial growth, which was 15.90 per cent in 2007-08 is now 9.1 per cent. Economic performance has slipped down to sixth rank from first position during six and half years of SAD-BJP rule,” he added. lashing out at Deputy Chief Minister and SAD president Sukhbir Badal for opposing special industrial package for border areas, Bajwa said that demand was made considering that land and water were available here in plenty, and the land is cheaper than other industrial towns besides labour is easily available. “The industrial growth of border areas will not only help this particular belt but will help economy of whole state,” he added.