Stop misleading people over budget without even understanding it: Jakhar to Sukhbir

Rs.1500 crore farm debt waiver allocation is merely 1st installment, says PPCC president
Chandigarh, June 20, 2017: Lashing out at Akali leader Sukhbir Singh Badal for playing petty politics over the budget through his false and misleading statements, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said the former deputy chief minister was talking out of his hat without bothering to understand the budgetary provisions.

Trashing Sukhbir’s criticism of the budget as a desperate bid to cover up his own government’s failures and misdeeds of the past 10 years, Jakhar said the former deputy chief minister’s statements on farm debt waiver and other announcements made in the budget were totally unsubstantiated.

The Captain Amarinder Singh government had categorically announced its decision to waive off loans up to Rs. 2 lakh of small and marginal farmers with up to 5 acres of land, and would be underwriting their loans. The Rs. 1500 crore allocation made for this purpose in the budget was merely the first instalment of the loans that the government would be paying off towards their bank settlement, Jakhar said, adding that it was surprising that Sukhbir could not work out this simple mathematics despite having led the government for 10 years.

The extent of Sukhbir’s ignorance shows how removed he and his colleagues in the erstwhile SAD-BJP regime were from matters of governance, having been busy all these years in looting the state and emptying its coffers to fill their own pockets, said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president.

Despite the empty coffers inherited by the Congress government from the previous regime, the Captain Amarinder government had shown visionary focus in coming out with a holistic budget addressing the concerns and needs of every section of the society, said Jakhar, adding that this was obvious unpalatable to Sukhbir, who was simply looking for ways to discredit the Congress government by hook or by crook.

Budget is a serious exercise and not to be taken frivolously, which Sukhbir is doing by making unfounded claims on its provisions, said Jakhar, adding that this showed that the SAD-BJP government did not take any of its budgetary commitments seriously all these years and hence believe the same to be the case for every government. “Does Sukhbir think that every political leader and party is as corrupt and dishonest like he and his Akali Dal?” asked Jakhar, adding that Sukhbir was trying to make a mockery of a serious matter related to governance.

Having failed to participate in any meaningful debate or discussion throughout the budget session, Sukhbir had completely exposed his lack of concern for the common people of Punjab, said Jakhar, adding that his attempts now to take political mileage by criticising the budgetary provisions was shameful and disgusting.

The Akalis, led by Sukhbir, have been indulging in political gimmickry to divert public attention from their own misdeeds and misdemeanours, which have been totally exposed through the government’s White Paper, and more of which would be laid bare in the coming weeks and months as the various investigations ordered by the Captain Amarinder government reach their conclusion, Jakhar said.

The people of Punjab have absolutely no doubts about Captain Amarinder’s intention to fulfill all his promises, said Jakhar, congratulating the Chief Minister on his historic decisions to alleviate the sufferings of the people across every section of the state.

While on the one hand the Congress government has given relief to over 10 lakh farmers in the state through debt waiver and other initiatives, it has, on the other, also increased the funds for urban development by 103.27% over the previous fiscal, clearly indicating its commitment to ensure holistic development and progress of the state, said the PPCC president.

Jakhar lauded the increase in pension for the poor from Rs. 500 to Rs. 750 and the 9.50% hike in allocation for Dalits and backward classes. He also welcomed the increase in budgetary allocation, from Rs. 13.77 crore to Rs. 91 crore, for skill development and employment generation, which would help address the serious problem of unemployment in the state.

The Congress manifesto is not just a manual of promises made to garner votes but a sacrosanct document which the Captain Amarinder government is committed to implement in letter and in spirit, said the Punjab Congress chief, adding that given the financial constraints, the achievements of the government in less than three months of installation were remarkable and expressed the optimism that the remaining poll promises, including total waiver of farmers’ debts, would also soon be implemented.