Sukhbir Badal tells CM to take up discrimination being done unto Punjab with Centre forcefully

Ludhiana, October 22, 2021: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi to take up the discrimination being done unto Punjab by reducing the status of Punjabi to a minor language for class ten and twelve central board examinations besides extending the jurisdiction of central forces to ten districts in the State with the centre forcefully.
Talking to newsmen here, the SAD President said it was shocking that the chief minister was refusing to even register a forceful protest against the centre which was striking against Punjab one after the other. “First Channi meekly surrendered policing rights over half of the State to the centre. Now he has again acquiesced to the relegation of Punjabi as a minor subject. All this clearly indicates that he is dancing to the tunes of the central government in order to secure his position as chief minister”.
Mr Badal also asked the chief minister to deliver on the promises made to the people instead of making empty promises. He castigated the chief minister of going in for photo-ops and misleading advertisements claiming compensation had been paid to farmers struck by the pink bollworm attack. “Not one farmer has received any compensation”. The SAD President said the Congress government was not expected to deliver on any of the promises being made to the people. That we will do once a SAD-BSP alliance is formed in 2022”, he added.
When queried about the manner in which former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had colluded with the BJP, Mr Badal said “we have been maintaining since day one that Capt Amarinder is hand in glove with the BJP. This is the reason why the BJP always remained soft with him and never targeted him on any issue. He also returned the favour by giving the go ahead to the draft of the three farm laws as member of committee of chief ministers. Now even Congress leaders are saying the same”. He said Capt Amarinder had however done a disservice to Punjabis. He is now talking of getting the farm law issue resolved now. What stopped him from doing this earlier and preventing the loss of 800 lives”, Mr Badal added.
The SAD President also asserted that it did not suit home minister Sukhjinder Randhawa to project himself as a savior of the State when everyone knew that he had been the blue eyed boy of Capt Amarinder Singh. “Randhawa had also gained the most during the Capt Amarinder regime as he had been given plum portfolios. Scams done by him including the seed scam were overlooked. He was also not taken into account for allowing jails to be used as extortions dens by gangsters”.
Asked about the self patting being done by the central government on the Covid vaccination front, Mr Badal said “the country passed through a most harrowing time during the Covid pandemic. Covid patients did not get oxygen leading large scale deaths due to this alone. There was also an extreme shortage of medicines and even black marketing of the same. The country also faced vaccination shortage as well a shortage of hospital beds and open loot by private medical practitioners. All these issues should be examined and responsibility should be fixed for the lapses besides ensuring augmentation of medical infrastructure”.
During his Ludhiana visit, the SAD president held detailed interactions with lawyers, businessmen, labour union representatives and the party cadre. He also participated in a youth event titled "Coffee with Sukhbir" at Jamalpur in Ludhiana East segment. He answered all the queries posed by the youngsters, mostly students. Divulging details of proposed youth specific schemes of the SAD-BSP alliance, Mr Badal said youth would be entitled to Rs 10 lakh interest free student loan and 33 per cent reservation in all professional colleges for government school students. He also assured that 75 per cent jobs in the private sector would be reserved for Punjabi youth.He also obliged hundreds of youths with selfies during a programme organised under the title "Selfie with Sukhbir".

In another event "Lod Punjab Di" during the course of which a mock Parliament was held at Gurunanak Bhawan, the SAD president urged the youth to evaluate all candidates approaching them for votes and take a decision accordingly. He said Punjabis had already suffered during the last five years and now needed a visionary chief minister to take the State forward.
Senior leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Hira Singh Gabria, Pritpal Singh Pali, Ranjit Singh Dhillon and Harish Rai Dhanda and Hira Singh Gabria were also present at the various functions.