Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, December 29: People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal today rubbished assertions of sound financial health of the state made by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal who claimed that the economy was performing much better than other states.
“Deputy Chief Minister must tell the people as to why the Punjab finance department has written to the centre including Niti Aayog to delay implementation of new pay scale for the employees as it is going to have cascading effect. Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa has made a candid admission on this issue and that too on the record. In case the state government is not bankrupt, Sukhbir must explain as to why doctors are being recruited at a pittance of Rs 15,000 per month and new employees in the state government have to contend with only basic pay for first three years”, the former finance minister asked.
He said it was ironic that here is a government that has altogether stopped supplying subsidized Daal under its subsidized Atta-Daal scheme for the last several months. School students have to go without winter uniforms and still Sukhbir is making ridiculous claims.
He said these were not small issues but major indicators of the state of economy. The government had failed to come to the rescue of the agitating farmers. The state is witnessing the highest ever incidence of suicides by the farmers and Sukhbir is playing with his Brazilian parrot. The slammed the state government for initiating short term and long term agrarian policy to check this trend as the crisis in the farm economy has also adversely affected the market in general.
He also questioned Sukhbir on the use of loans for unproductive purposes. “Sukhbir must substantiate his claim by sharing with the people as to what percentage of this loan is being used for capital investment. The model adopted by him in the power sector has wrecked the economy of the state power bodies as thermal plants in the public sector have to be kept shut to buy costly power from these private power plants on the basis of which claims of Punjab being power surplus are being made. What is being kept a secret is the cost the people have to pay indirectly”, he added.
Manpreet challenged him to come out with the fact sheet rather than indulging in such baseless claims.
