The rival political parties on Monday take on Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder a day after he announced his nine-point agenda for the State’s development.
While the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said that agenda was meant to befool gullible voters and would never be honoured, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed it as the “bundle of lies”. Aam Aadmi Party too criticised the nine-point action plan while describing it as “fraud with people of Punjab”.
“Such wide ranging generalities like gribbi hatao slogan of late Indira Gandhi are meant to befool gullible voters and would never be honoured…Congress had ruled the country and most of the states since independence but nowhere it has provide the facilities which are being offered by Capt Amarinder,” said State Cabinet Minister and SAD leader Daljeet Cheema.
He said that as chief minister during 2002-2007, ironically, he had acted diametrically opposed to what Amarinder offered through his action plan on Sunday.
“In view of his dismal track record as he had imposed a blanket ban on recruitment in government, Amarinder promising jobs at rate of one for each of 40 lakh families of the state seems ridiculous,” he said.
lambasting Amarinder on his promise of waiving all farm loans, Cheema asked that he should first reveal what he had done to mitigate the miseries of the farmers under debt. “Did he waive loan of any farmers”, asked Cheema adding that during his tenure number of farmers committing suicide was high and it never disturbed him.
In fact, Amarinder would soon pass on the buck to the Centre for loan waiver citing dearth of funds as the Congress has already approached the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On 33 per cent reservations for women, Cheema advised Amarinder that his promise would carry more credence if he dared to allot 33 tickets to women candidates in the ensuing assembly polls or had given the same share in his party organization.
“What Amarinder did to empower women during his last tenure or he has become wiser to think of fair sex only at the times of elections as they constitute around 50 percent of the voters,” he asked.
“The nine-point program of Congress would remain on paper as the party has not even remote possibility of coming to power in the state,” he said.
BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh, maintaining that Capt Amarinder has no credibility to be taken seriously, said that neither Congress nor Capt Amarinder have a moral right to promise or even talk of saving Punjab waters, reviving industry and trade, saving the lives of farmers, offering employment to Punjabi youth and to do anything regarding women empowerment.
“Amarinder is the same leader who had welcomed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she came to lay foundation stone for SYl, the canal to deliver Punjab waters to neighbouring states…Does one need to remind Capt Amarinder that during his rule from the year 2002 to 2007, he did nothing to improve prospects of trade and industry, generate employment and electricity and did absolutely nothing to protect and uplift Dalits in the stateIJ” Chugh said.
Chugh said that Capt Amarinder was now a captain of a sinking ship named Punjab Congress as people were aware of the difference between the actual development witnessed during SAD-BJP regime than the fake and false promises once again made by Congress to lure people ahead of elections.
AAP’s Punjab convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich (Ghuggi) said that the same promises were made by Capt Amarinder before 2002 elections but did exactly opposite after winning the elections. The people of state has no more trust in Capt Amarinder Singh now, he said.
“Captain is making fake promise of providing government job to every family but his record as Punjab Chief Minister says that he was the one who banned the Government recruitments in State…The orders to stay even the promotions and abolish promotions were also issued by none other than Captain,” he said.
“It is so funny that Captain is talking about eradicating drugs from Punjab in four weeks. The same Captain saved his nephew Majithia from CBI enquiry in drug paddling case going against the will of whole party,” he said.