* Asks Amarinder to disclose how many jobs he created vis a vis 2 lakh jobs created by SAD- BJP government
* SAD leaders Maheshinder Grewal and Dr Daljit Cheema says Manpreet Badal was in favour of freezing recruitment as finance minister
Chandigarh, December 13 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said it was shocking and shameful that the Punjab Congress and other opposition parties were trying to politicise a tragic self immolation bid out of sheer frustration after being repeatedly rejected by the people of the State.
In a statement here, senior SAD leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said Congress leaders – Capt Amarinder Singh, Partap Singh Bajwa and Sunil Jakhar should explain their role in creating jobs and being accessible to the people during Congress rule in Punjab between 2002- 2007 instead of trying to politicise a case of individual suffering.
“The manner in which the Congress and the other opposition parties including the PPP and the AAP have congregating in Chandigarh and made statements without even looking into the circumstances of the case makes it clear that they have no agenda of their own and are even ready to behave inhumanly by riding piggy back on a human tragedy”, the SAD leaders said.
Mr Grewal and Dr Cheema said instead of trying to pontificate on the functioning of the SAD – BJP government, Capt Amarinder should explain how many jobs he created in the State during his five year rule. “Is it not true that a few thousand people were recruited in Punjab during Congress rule while two lakh people have been given government jobs during SAD- BJP rule”, the leaders said.
The leaders said similarly Capt Amarinder was known to be inaccessible to even his own ministers when he was chief minister. They said in direct contrast both chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal were always available to the people.
Speaking about yesterday’s incident Mr Grewal and Dr Cheema said the chief minister was attending a Sangat Darshan programme in Attari and other places during the last few days due to which the woman who tried to self immolate herself could not meet him.
Commenting on PPP leader Manpreet Badal, the SAD leaders said this was the same man who wanted to freeze all recruitments when he was finance minister of the State. “It goes to the credit of S Parkash Singh Badal that he never heeded any such anti people advice and this is the reason why Manpreet Badal has been repeatedly rejected by the people of the State”, they added.
Calling the AAP a rag tag party of opportunists and comedians who were even trying to instigate violence in the State, Mr Maheshinder Grewal said AAP had been rejected by the people of Punjab in elections recently because they failed to come up with any agenda for the State.
Stating that the process of recruitment for various jobs was on, the SAD leaders said not a single case of wrongdoing in job recruitment had surfaced in the State since the last seven and a half years of SAD- BJP rule. “All recruitments are being done on merit and fair play is the only consideration in this regard”, the leaders added. EOM