Punjab descending into state of civil war: Sukhbir Badal

Chandigarh, Dec 23 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to resign if he really had the interests of Punjab at heart while asserting AAP was leading the state to ruin by presiding over the flight of industry from the state, besides indulging in scams, including a Rs 300-crore advertisement scam.

The SAD President told the media here that "the situation in Punjab is spiralling out of control. The state is descending into a state of civil war. The best Bhagwant Mann can do in such a situation is resign and prevail upon AAP to seek a fresh mandate from Punjabis".

Asserting that the last nine months had been the worst in the history of the state, Badal said "no one is safe. Particularly vulnerable are businessmen and traders who are being forced to cough up ransoms on a daily basis. The situation is such that leading industrialists are approaching the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to invest in that state. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister even related this to me, saying industrialists wanted to shift to UP as they felt Punjab was no longer safe. Punjab also lacks an industrial policy since the last one year".

He said the exit of industry from Punjab would result in massive unemployment and would lead to civil unrest.

Stating that the state was on the brink of a financial emergency also, Badal said "the state has borrowed Rs 30,000 crore in the last nine months but has nothing to show for it. GST, stamp duty and land revenue has gone down. There has not been any investment in infrastructure even as revenue expenditure has gone up".

He said this situation was due to repeated scams with the latest being the Rs 300-crore advertising scam under which government money was used to spread the political message of AAP across the country, including Gujarat.

He appealed to Governor Banwarilal Purohit to order a probe into the issue and recover Rs 300 crore from the AAP.

Badal said it was also shocking that the Chief Minister had completely sub-let governance to the AAP high command.

"Earlier, the AAP high command masterminded the Rs 500 crore excise scam by handing over the entire liquor trade in Punjab to its favourites from Delhi. Now, it is taking control of the real estate in Punjab and has appointed a former Additional chief secretary and Arvind Kejriwal's blue eyed boy, Satya Gopal, as Chairman of RERA, Punjab.

"This shows the extent to which Kejriwal has taken control of Punjab and its resources."

The SAD President said the entire state was crumbling due to lack of governance. He said even the state electricity utility -- PSPCL -- was on the verge of bankruptcy due to mismanagement by the AAP government.

He said the state government had failed to pay Rs 22,000 crore subsidy to PSPCL and was now forcing the utility to take loans. "This is leading to power cuts and breakdown as the utility lacks funds to even undertake routine repairs."

Stating that all this had created a fertile ground for destabilisation of Punjab, Badal said: "Pakistan is bound to take advantage of this situation. If Punjab becomes a disturbed state, it will disturb the peace of the country."

He said Punjab had gone back by two decades during the period of militancy. "We cannot let such a situation arise again. It is best Bhagwant Mann resigns and allows Punjabis to choose a fresh mandate."