Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday flayed Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal and his party for unleashing a 'negative, anti-people' agenda with their misleading statements and baseless charges against the Congress Government.
Categorically rejecting the Akali charges of the Congress Government backtracking from its promises, the Chief Minister blamed the Akalis squarely for the fiscal mess in the State.
"The financial crisis prevailing in the State was a result of ill-conceived and corrupt policies of the erstwhile SAD-BJP Government," said the Chief Minister, adding that this, coupled with the delay in GST contribution from the Centre, had led to the delay in salary disbursement of Government employees this month.
Hitting out at Sukhbir's allegations of non-performance on the part of the Government over the past six months, he said: "The Badals and their associates were engaged in brazen loot during the decade of their rule, leaving the Government exchequer reeling under an unprecedented debt and had the audacity now to blame the Congress Government for the crisis prevailing in the State."
Capt Amarinder said that only had his Government implemented most of the promises made by the Congress in its manifesto but had done so in the face of severe financial problems. "Notwithstanding the economic crisis in the State, his Government had fulfilled all its major promises, from social welfare schemes to drugs elimination to industrial development and waiver of farm loans," he added.
Once again lambasting Sukhbir for continuously misguiding the farmers over the issues of debt waiver and kurki abolition, he accused him of playing with their lives to further his own political agenda.
By negating the hard facts and figures on employment, SAD president was also trying to undermine the confidence of the youth, who were suffering the consequences of the Badal Government's total failure to protect them from the menace of drugs and unemployment, he added.
"Bereft of any serious issue to criticise the Congress Government, the Akalis had adopted a destructive approach and were resorting to unfounded allegations in a desperate bid to malign his Government and its excellent performance since taking over in March this year," said the Chief Minister, adding that the Badals were trying to rake up non-issues to create a platform to take their political ambitions forward.