(Calls bluff of puppet CM Bhagwant Mann, rubbishes each and every “achievement” listed in front page advertisements in Punjab and across the country)
Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today condemned chief minister Bhagwant Mann for wasting Rs 25 crore in a single day to highlight the so called achievements of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on completion of one and a half years in government when it had nothing to show for either on the development, infrastructure or social welfare fronts.
Calling the bluff of the puppet chief minister, the SAD president rubbished each and every so-called achievement listed in front page advertisements in all prominent newspapers in the State as well as State headquarters in the country. He said the Dhongi Aam Aadmi Party, which deserved to be called Lutaron Ki Party, would be held to account for looting the State exchequer once the SAD formed the government in the State. “This government has released more than Rs 750 crore on advertisements out of which more than 25 per cent has been taken back by AAP functionaries in the form of commission besides other misuse of government funds’ ‘. He also accused the government of taking an unprecedented loan of Rs 50,000 crore but not doing anything to establish any infrastructure like a thermal plant, road or irrigation project even as social welfare schemes like old age pension and shagun had been curtailed and Punjabis were getting wheat only from the centre and not the AAP government.
Exposing the claims of the chief minister on each and every point listed in the advertisement, Mr Badal said “the chief minister has claimed that 37,000 government jobs have been given to youth but failed to list the jobs. While a few thousand jobs have been given, outsiders have mostly benefited from the same”. He disclosed how out of 1370 jobs given by PSPCL as many as 534 candidates had been recruited from Haryana and 94 from Rajasthan. He said similarly six out of seven Sub Inspectors who were recruited in the Punjab Police were from Haryana. “The health systems corporation recruited 300 outsiders while the Animal Husbandry department gave jobs to 134 outsiders”.
Ridiculing the AAP government for claiming it had established world class health facilities in the State, the SAD president said “the government has pasted a picture of a Sewa Centre established by the erstwhile SAD government which has been turned into a Mohalla Clinic now. I want to ask the chief minister how a Mohalla Clinic with one doctor and one nurse on its rolls can be termed as a world class facility?” He said similarly the AAP government had claimed to have turned around the education sector by establishing a School of Excellence which was nothing but a repainted version of a Meritorious School established by former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.
Questioning the Rs 50,000 crore investment claim made by the chief minister, Mr Badal said “the government has failed to list the name of any major company which has invested in the State. “We all know the chief minister’s track record in this field. He is on record to have claimed that BMW will invest in Punjab which was promptly denied by the company”.
Asserting that corruption had increased in Punjab under AAP tenure contrary to what the chief minister was claiming, the SAD president said “money is being demanded for each and every thing be it an NOC or land registry”. He said AAP legislators were openly indulging in illegal sand mining besides patronizing drug smugglers. “Even AAP legislators who have been accused of corruption including Dr Vijay Singla, Amit Rattan and Fauja Singh Sarari are still part of AAP and not been expelled”.
Also questioning the chief minister why he has listed hosting of a tourism meet as an achievement, Mr Badal said “in the AAP tourism meet the comedian Kapil Sharma was the chief guest even as all top tourism players stayed away”.
Mr Badal said even more laughable was the claim that one CM di Yogshala programme had been held in Punjab. “More than Rs 30 crore were spent on advertisements to hold this programme”, he added. He said even the claim of a new Sports policy was hollow when the Haryana government was paying international medalists three times more than the Punjab government. He said the AAP government did not have anything to show by way of creating any new sporting infrastructure and that the former SAD government had brought Punjab on the sports map by establishing 15 astro turf grounds which were paying dividends now.
