Cautioning Punjabi NRIs from lending support to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2017 Assembly polls, former Chief Minister and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh said that any new “experimentation” at this crucial juncture could prove disastrous for the State.
“Punjab has been ruined during the 10 years of misrule of the Akali-BJP combine and another five years of any misadventure would bring the State to its knees, making recovery impossible”, said Capt Amarinder while addressing a well-attended public reception organised by the Punjabi NRIs, Southern California, in los Angeles, California, on Sunday.
Castigating AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal for his extravagant advertising media campaigns in Punjab, Capt Amarinder said: “He has committed a loot of Rs 526 crores of hard earned money of Delhi taxpayers in pursuit of his political ambition.Kejriwal is now dreaming of becoming the Chief Minister of Punjab.”
Saying that Punjab’s interests can never be safe in AAP’s hands, the PPCC president said: “We have water and territorial conflicts with Haryana, the state from where Kejriwal hails, so it would be naïve to expect him or his party to fight for the legitimate rights of Punjabis.”
He said that the inefficient functioning of the Delhi government, evident from the prevailing dissatisfaction among the residents of Delhi, had exposed Kejriwal’s lies and it was only a matter of a short time that the party’s misplaced hype in Punjab would fade.
Dubbing the Akali-BJP rule in Punjab as the biggest misfortune for the state, Capt Amarinder said that he had never imagined in his wildest dreams that a state that fed the entire country would come to the brink when its once prosperous farmers would commit suicides.
Reiterating his commitment to enact laws to put an end to the provision of auction of lands of debt ridden farmers, he promised that if voted to power his government would find a solution to free farmers from their debts.
Responding to questions from NRIs, Capt Amarinder said drug addiction had ruined an entire generation in Punjab and the Akali-BJP combine was squarely responsible for it. “We know that the Badal clan has its hands in this dirty business and I promise that I would not spare them,” he said.
Reminding people that his government had sent both Prakash Singh Badal and his son, Sukhbir, to prison during his earlier tenure, the former Chief Minister said they would meet a similar fate for all their misdeeds if Congress comes to power.
Assuring the gathering that education, health and revival of agriculture would be the main priorities of his government, besides making the state drug free, Capt Amarinder said that he had already formed a committee of experts to study, analyse and find solutions to these problems. “We would come out with workable solutions to get Punjab back on the rails of development and prosperity”, he said.
On a question on the recent Act enacted by the Parliament debarring Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in SGPC election, Capt Amarinder said that this was the handiwork of the Badals.
“They want unopposed continuation of their stranglehold over the SGPC,” he said adding that as an individual and as a Sikh he would contest or support any party willing to defeat the Badals. He said that his party would also support the Sehajdhari Sikhs in seeking legal recourse against the Act.