AAP allocated Rs 700 crore for fake publicity even as farmers and poorer sections suffer – Sukhbir S Badal

Ludhiana, September 29, 2022: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today said even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had allocated Rs 700 crore for fake publicity, farmers and the disadvantaged sections of society were suffering with crop damage compensation and direct seeding incentive not being given to farmers even as the ‘aata-daal’ scheme had been closed.

The SAD president held a number of meetings here and even constituted a four member panel of observers led by N K Sharma and including Paramabans Singh Romana, Pritpal Singh Pali and Gurpreet Singh Raju Khanna to shortlist probable’s for the municipal corporation elections.

Asserting that the chief minister was drunk on power, Sukhbir Badal said “Bhagwant Mann has allocated an unprecedented 42 vehicles for his own cavalcade and enforces a virtual curfew at every place he visits. All promises made to the people have been forgotten with the entire government functioning to the whims and fancies of AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal”. He said the chief minister’s own credibility and standing had also taken a huge hit when he was caught lying while claiming that BMW would establish a car manufacturing plant in Punjab as well as when he was deplaned in Frankfurt because he was in an inebriated condition.

Stating that Rs 700 crore had been earmarked for advertising, Badal said public funds were being used to further the agenda of AAP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and even States like Tamil Nadu. He said even as money was being wasted to build up AAP, farmers had not been paid compensation for crop damage or incentive of Rs 1,500 per acre for direct seeding of paddy and Rs 2,500 per acre for not burning their stubble. He said even dairy farmers and the dairy movement in the State had been backstabbed with the government not compensating farmers for loss of milch animals to LSD.

Stating that everyone was suffering, Badal said most social welfare measures had been stopped. He said the AAP government was directly responsible for stoppage of the aata – daal scheme as it wanted to change the mode of delivery to derive political mileage from the same. He said registries had come to a grinding halt and that construction activity was also stalled due to high rates of sand and gravel.

Meanwhile the SAD president during his meetings held in East, Central, North and Atam Nagar constituencies also took ground feedback from party workers. The meetings were organised by Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Pritpal Singh Pali, RD Sharma and Harish Rai Dhanda. He also appealed to the people to show the door to AAP in the corporation elections to teach the party a lesson for its misrule of the State. 

APPEAL TO PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI
SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commute the death sentence of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana to life sentence in keeping with the sentiment expressed by the central government when it had made a similar announcement on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji. He also called for the release of all Sikh detenues who had completed their jail terms but were still languishing in prison.