Sounding the poll bugle for the 2017 Assembly polls, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday exhorted the people to make a firm pledge for forming
the SAD-BJP alliance Government in the State for the third consecutive term to complete the ongoing development works in the State.
Addressing the gathering here on the political conference, the Chief Minister said that every Punjabi must vow to bring back the alliance to power so that the ongoing work of the State’s development could be accomplished. Badal said that due to the pro-people and development-oriented policies of the State Government, Punjab was on the zenith of development and peace.
Badal said that this could be sustained only and only if SAD-BJP alliance was voted to power for third time.
The Chief Minister said the Akali Dal party had relentlessly worked for safeguarding the interests of the state. He said that each and every worker of SAD was committed for the cause of state due to which they had even suffered many hardships. “Contrary to it the other political parties have harmed the interests of the state for their own motives” added Badal.
lashing at the Aam Aadmi Party, the Chief Minister said that that it was a ‘bunch of fugitives and rumour mongers’, who were trying to grab power in state by misleading Punjabis. Badal said that the leaders of AAP were basically braggers who were trying to divert the attention of people from basic issues. He said that though Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was not aware of basic topography of the state but he was dreaming to capture power in state by raising hollow slogans. “Kejriwal is totally unaware of rural life of state and he cannot even differentiate between the varieties of crop”, added Badal.
Terming state Congress Chief Captain Amarinder Singh as an ‘undisciplined soldier’, the Chief Minister said that despite of his claims that he had served the Army Captain has not learnt anything from highly disciplined force. He said an Army man never disobeys his seniors but Amarinder arm twisted the entire Congress high command to grab Captaincy of Congress. likewise, Badal said that despite of two back to back debacles Captain was clinching to post of state Congress Chief, which was not a trait of any soldier.
lashing out at Captain Amarinder and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sucha Singh Chottepur for frequently changing sides to suit their interests, the Chief Minister said that these leaders were once sworn Akalis but have changed sides for the sake of power.
Taking the Congress party to the cudgels, the Chief Minister reminded the people that this party has done lot of injustice with the state by snatching its capital, legitimate share in river waters and Punjabi speaking areas. He said that the Congress party had inflicted a deep wound on Sikh psyche by attacking the Golden Temple and by killing thousands of innocent Sikhs during 1984 Sikh carnage.
The Chief Minister alleged that the Congress party and the radicals, who were hell bent upon disturbing the hard earned peace of the state, were the two faces of a same coin.
Sukhbir advocates development
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Akali Dal President, Sukhbir Singh Badal made a very strong pitch for development and said that his party is the only party which has accomplished what it preached and promised to the people of the state. He promised that if voted to power again in 2017, the project of concretization of all the streets and drains of more than 12400 villages across the State would be done.
Praising his father, he said Parkash Singh Badal is a people’s man and a matchless leader who has always kept the interests of common people uppermost in his mind.
Describing SAD as a party of commoners having also a great legacy of martyrdom, Sukhbir said that it has always fought for the unity and integrity of the country.
Terming SAD as a development oriented party Sukhbir said that it is only the SAD Government which has cared for the welfare of all the sections of society.
Taking the development plank further, he said the SAD government had accomplished several pro-people measures for e.g. waving of tubewell bills, making Punjab power surplus, 24 hours power to the consumers and the ‘Dhanis’. He also elaborated that Rs. 1500 crore would be spent on the up gradation of link roads besides Rs. 20,000 crore are being spent on the widening (4 and 6 laning) of roads.
He said that every assembly constituency would get Rs. 25-30 crore for development projects. The Deputy CM listed out the other people friendly measures of the state government for e.g health and accidental insurance scheme, ‘Mukh Mantri Tirath Darshan Yatra Scheme’, nearly 1,20,000 jobs and commencing of operations by 2174 ‘sewa kendaras’ in next 3 months providing various citizen centric services at their door steps.
Attacking AAP, Sukhbir said that Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal cannot be trusted because he didn’t walk his talk. Accusing Kejriwal of hobnobbing with congress for the sake of attaining power and not doing anything on development front, Deputy Chief Minister said that Kejriwal is more of a drama king than a leader and so the people must be beware of him and not fall into his trap.
lashing out at Congress, he said that the balloon of the party had burst and elevation of Captain Amarinder Singh to the post of PPCC chief won’t make a difference as the congress is nowhere in the picture.
Exhorting the party cadre to gear up for ‘Battle-2017’, the SAD President said that he has not seen more energetic and youthful workers other than SAD. He said that if SAD is strong, so would the Sikhs and Punjab.
Almost the entire brass of Akali Dal leaders, including Cabinet ministers and MlAs were present in the political conference.