The Punjab Congress on Monday said the hostile reception that Akali leaders led by Agriculture Minister Tota Singh received on the US soil should be an eye-opener for Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal as it reflected anger against them and their Government
“Tota Singh became the soft target as both father and son have no courage to set their foot in the countries where the Punjabis have settled in large numbers like Canada and USA,” said State Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa.
Bajwa referred to the efforts by the Badals to woo Punjabi diaspora by organising NRI summits whose end result was zero and the hate against them had been on the increase. He asserted the NRIs continued to face the same problems despite the tall promises made at these summits.
He made it clear that this was not only about their problems but also because of the issues like drug menace, staggering debt burden, lack of development and false dreams shown to the people that was getting reflected in the demonstrations against Akali leaders abroad. “The NRIs too are highly concerned with the open loot by the Badals as evident from their proliferating business while the socio-economic crisis in the state is deepening. There is rank mismanagement and blatant corruption in the administration. Now Sukhbir want to buy people’s support with Rs 10,000 crore loan in the name of so-called development,” he said.
He added, “The fact of the matter is that the Badal Government has miserably failed and this is the cause of people’s anger against it everywhere.” The PPCC chief asserted the worry of the Badal Government was the pro-active role of the Punjabi NRIs in the last lok Sabha election against the Akali Dal and the situation had only worsened since then.
Bajwa called upon Sukhbir to visit Canada and USA and himself face the situation rather than sending sacrificial goats.