Man gets life imprisonment for murdering teenage Indian wife in London
Chandigarh, October 21: The Punjab Congress Legislature Party chief Mr Charanjit Singh Channi today denounced the fund starved Akali Dal-BJP government in the state headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal for wasting crores on publicity to cover up its non-performance and non-governance since 2007. The congress party will approach the state election commission to stop this misuse at once because this all is being done to mislead the voters of Punjab. The Congress after coming into power in 2017 elections would order probe into this racket. The Badal government spent a whopping 176 Crores on promoting the governments achievements while now they have kept budget of 150 Crores in the election year.
“This is a government that believes more in showmanship rather than delivery. This is reflected in the tsunami of anti-incumbency. Roads in the major towns are potholed. The public transport has been forced to make way for Badal buses systematically. The two terms of this government have witnessed unprecedented development, but of the Badal family and not of the state and the people. The highest ever suicides by the farmers and farm workers are a reflection of this model of the Badal model of development. Dalits are chopped to pieces. It is the Badal mafia that has complete grip over the state and this is the real face of Punjab that this government has been trying to cover up all along”, he said.
The CLP chief said in this last year of its term, the state government had allocated Rs 150 crore for publicity in print, audio-visual and social media while there is no money to pay to the families of the farmers and farm workers committing suicides. Old age pensions and disbursements under the shagun schemes, grants to war widows, SC St scholarships, handicapped pensions and even the retirement benefits of the government employees are inordinately delayed on account of financial stringency. However, this government was least bothered about these problems.
Channi released the figured procured by the Congress cell RTI activist Dr Jasdeepak Singh. These figures pertain to the nine and a half year of the Badal rule.
The government spent :-
Year PRINT Electronic media
2007-08 Rs 4.16 Cr Rs 74.82 lac
2008-09 Rs 12.16 Cr Rs 78 lac
2009-10 Rs 4.88 Cr Rs 67.70 Lac
2010-11 Rs 1.22 Cr
Contd…..
After this the budget is combined for print and electronic media.
2011-12 Rs 11.01 Cr
2012-13 Rs 8.42 Cr
2013-14 Rs 17.67 Cr
2014-15 Rs 6.33 Cr
2015-16 Rs 31.55 Cr
2016-17 Rs 27.01 Cr
The total expenditure in all these years comes to be (126 print & electronic + 50 impact assessment + .31google and facebook) Rs. 176.31 Cr. The budget for the current year is Rs 150 Cr. The most astonishing fact comes is they have also kept 50 Cr for the field publicity and Impact assessment related jobs for only one year. The expenditure on propaganda on Google and Facebook from March to August last totaled Rs 31.20 Lacs. Then there is expenditure for display ads under a separate head. He said the allocation under this head during the current year was Rs 75 Cr. This all is being done just seeing the forthcoming assembly elections in the state.
He said the Congress after coming into power in the Assembly election would order probe into such wasteful expenditure. He said the government had earmarked Rs 50 Cr for impact assessment during the current year. Mr Channi said the impact was visible from the luxury buses of the Badals plying on every route in the state.
