Jagraon, March 18
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal today appealed to Punjabis to beware of agencies who might bring a new entrant into the poll fray in Punjab and even provide support to the new political outfit in the same manner in which certain persons were propped up in the 2024 parliamentary elections to weaken the SAD in the 2027 assembly elections.
Addressing a massive rally here along with senor party leader S.R.Kaler as part of the SAD’s Punjab Bachao movement during the course of which he announced that the next SAD government would make Jagraon a district, Badal said, “In the 2024 parliamentary polls you got emotional and voted for persons who were propped up by the agencies”. Urging Punjabis to understand this conspiracy, Badal appealed to them to support the SAD for the welfare of Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiat.
Stating that the SAD alone was concerned about their welfare, Badal said, “Do you think Modi Ji (PM Narendra Modi), Arvind Kejriwal or Rahul Gandhi have any care about your issues?” He said the parties of Delhi had always discriminated against Punjab while citing how the State was denied its right to its own capital, how half of its River waters were snatched and given to Rajasthan against the Riparian Principle and how Punjabi speaking areas had been left out of it while reconstituting it in 1966.
Asserting that the SAD was committed to correcting these historical injustices, the SAD president said once the party formed the government in 2027 it would stop the flow of water into the Rajasthan canal. “We will construct new canals and take this water to the fields of our farmers,” he added. Badal also spoke on how the AAP government was even destroying the democratic framework in the State. He said in elections to the Chairman of the Baghapurana Block Samiti yesterday, AAP stole the Chairmanship despite having only eight members compared to 15 members of the SAD. He said the same had happened in Mansa also.
“The AAP government is also using gangsters like Jaggu Bhagwanpuria to intimidate political opponents in electing Chairpersons to Block Samitis”, Badal asserted, while adding that the media was also forced to toe the line. “Those who do not do so are persecuted like what it happening to the Punjab Kesri group whose hotel’s boundary was demolished without giving it a chance to take recourse to appeal”.
Stating that the AAP government was trying to deceive Punjabis again by claiming it would give Rs 1,000 per month to general women and Rs 1,500 per month to those from the reserved category, Badal said, “The AAP government has taken a loan of Rs 52,000 crore and has sold government land to give this allowance to women for six months”. He said in this process the government has also withheld power subsidy to PSPCL. This will spell doom for Punjab and its farmers”, he added.
Laying out his vision for Punjab, Badal said the SAD would not allow water to flow into the Rajasthan canal. “All water diverted from the Rajasthan canal will be diverted to the fields of Punjab. I would not allow one drop of industrial or sewage effluent to enter the Sutlej and Beas rivers. The violators will be dealt with sternly. This is absolutely essential to tackle the scourge of cancer in the Malwa belt,” he announced.
Badal also announced that the ‘Rahat’ scheme initiated by the erstwhile SAD government would be revived to put an end to tax terrorism to which traders were subjected to both during the previous Congress and present AAP government. The SAD president also announced that an Rs 10 lakh interest free loan would be offered to youth besides restarting an expanded Aata Dal scheme and raising old age pension to Rs 3,100 per month and Shagun allowance to Rs 1 lakh. He also announced all farmers bereft of a tubewell connection would be given this facility besides 12 hour power supply in day time, establishment of a World Skill University with its affiliated Colleges in each district and government jobs for Punjabis only.
