Both Cong, AAP befooled people with false promises: Akali Dal candidate

Jalandhar, May 6 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) joint candidate Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi on Saturday said the family of late Santokh Singh Choudhary had failed the people of the constituency by not taking any effort to convert the district hospital into a medical college.

"I am a doctor. I know that the central government has a scheme under which it gives grants to convert district hospitals into medical colleges. The Choudhary family has been representing this constituency for the last nine years but has not done anything to seek a central grant to convert the district hospital into a medical college," he said.

Asserting that he had witnessed a picture of neglect in the constituency both on the medical and education sphere besides breakdown of road infrastructure, Sukhi said "people have high aspirations from their elected representatives. It is unfortunate that the Choudhary family, which had a strong hold in this constituency for nearly 30 years, has done nothing for the people. People are telling me that the family is not approachable with many saying they have never seen the late leader whose death has necessitated this by-election."

Sukhi, who was talking to newsmen here after addressing public meetings, said, "I am committed to follow the ideals of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal who not only brought governance to the people through Sangat Darshan programmes, but took everybody along in the path of progress. SAD has a strong history of pro-farmer and pro-poor policies and is committed to enlarging on them.

"The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the other hand have a history of promising the moon but cheating and betraying people. Former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh cheated you by vowing on the holy Gutka Sahib that he would waive off your loans but did nothing.

"Similarly this gang of outsiders led by Arvind Kejriwal promised government jobs for your children and Rs 1,000 per month to all adult women. It also has not done anything."

Urging the people to vote for the SAD-BSP, Sukhi said "doing so will send a clear signal that you want the state to be run on the principles founded by Parkash Singh Badal. Doing so will also send a clear signal to the AAP government that its days are numbered in Punjab and that Punjabis will never entrust their future in the hands of outsiders again."