Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Baba Bakala, August 7 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said now that the Congress government had admitted that it won’t waive off farmer loans, it should not try to shift the onus for the same on the centre and should instead apologise to Punjabis for betraying them.
Addressing a mammoth rally on the occasion of Rakhar Puniya here, the SAD President said the Congress government should not try to blame the centre for failing to fulfil its loan waiver promise. “The Congress party got lakhs of forms filled from farmers promising complete loan waiver of loans worth Rs 90,000 crore. It’s finance minister Manpreet Badal however allocated only Rs 1,500 crore for this purpose in the State budget. Now the government is saying it cannot release even this amount. I want to ask Manpreet Badal one thing only. Why did he cheat the farmers in this manner. He was finance minister earlier for four years during SAD- BJP tenure. He knew the state of Punjab finances and also whether farmer loans could be waived off or not. It is because of his false promise and inability to deliver on them that nearly 200 farmers have committed suicide in around 150 days”.
Mr Badal said if there was one thing the Congress government had done in the last five months it was inflicting repression on the poor and Dalits besides registering false cases against Akali workers. “I have been to five assembly constituencies as part of the party’s Jabar Virodhi Lehar and learnt that no one has been spared.” Young boys and even old women have been implicated in false cases. Even the land of a serving army jawan has been taken over by supporters of Congress mla Ramanjit Sikki”.
Stating that the SAD would not be cowed down by false cases, the SAD president asked party men to face Congress repression boldly. He asked them to gherao police stations if they were implicated in false cases. “We will also initiate cases against any police officer found indulging in vendetta at the instance of Congress leaders”, he added.
Asking the Congress to explain its allegations, he said Congress leaders were looting the people by selling sand at five to six times the earlier price during SAD-BJP tenure. He said similarly liquor prices had doubled in Punjab after major share in the liquor business was given to Deepa Chadha, daughter the chief minister’s Religious Advisor Paramjit Singh Sarna. Mr Badal said cases of sacrilege had also increased under Congress rule.
Speaking on the occasion former minister Bikram Majithia thanked the people for the stupendous success of the SAD rally. He said despite commandeering buses and availing the service of singer Manpreet Sandhu, the Congress could not draw people to their rally. “A drama was also done at the Sathiala college by constructing a helipad for chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh who did not come despite promises”. He said the lesser said about the AAP show the better. AAP failed to even put up a modicum of a conference”, he added.
Mr Majithia also took on Local bodies minister Navjot Sidhu and Manpreet Badal. He said Sidhu was set to betray CM Capt Amarinder Singh now in the same manner in which he had betrayed his mentor Arun Jaitely, Sardar Parkash Singh Badal and PM Narendra Modi. “He has already tried to stage a coup by collecting legislators to his side but failed”. He said similarly Manpreet Badal was misusing Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s legacy. “Now youth are being fobbed off to become motor cycle taxi drivers. What happened to your ghar naukari scheme? Is this your way of providing employment in the name of the great martyr?”, he asked.
Others who spoke on the occasion included MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Gulzar Singh Ranike, Bibi Jagir Kaur, Veer Singh Lopoke, Virsa Singh Valtoha, Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal, Malkit Singh AR and Sarabjit Singh Makkar besides others.
