Manpreet on door to door in cloth market
Bathinda, January 24: Senior Congress leader and party candidate from Bathinda Manpreet Singh Badal today said going by its manifesto released today, the Akali Dal has accepted reality of the drug crisis in Punjab by promising to initiate ‘war against drugs’.
Speaking with media, Manpreet said all along, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had been in denial mode on this sensitive issue despite the fact that the Akali Dal manifesto for general elections to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee way back in 2004 had referred to this menace.
He said Akali Dal’s alliance partner BJP too has promised drug free Punjab that too flies in the face of Sukhbir. Yet another admission of the deepening crisis was incentive of Rs 2 lakh promised to the family whose member succeeds in leaving the habit.
Referring to the promise to acquire one lakh acre of land in other countries to resettle Punjab farmers there, he expressed the hope that it might not be used as a tool to add to the personal wealth by Sukhbir as he has always used the state apparatus to promote his business interests.
He attacked as ridiculous the reference to the Swaminathan committee report recommending MSP by ensuring at least 50 per cent profit over and above the cost of production saying it amounted to befooling the people as the recommendation had already been rejected by the Narendra Modi government in which the Akali Dal is a partner.
On the issue of employment generation, he asserted the Congress had already gone ahead on its promise of creating 25 lakh job opportunities and the Akali Dal manifesto was just its copy. He said the Congress had promised loan waiver of all the farmers while the Akali Dal talks of farmers having only upto 2.5 acre of land.
Manpreet lambasted the Akali Dal manifesto for misleading the people by saying that “Punjab does not have a single drop of water to spare for any state and nor does any other state have any right over these waters of Ravi, Beas and Satluj” as about 70 per cent of the water from Punjab rivers was already flowing to Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi.
he questioned Sukhbir on the promise of launching peaceful struggle to get transferred to Punjab “vast Punjabi speaking areas, including the Capital City of Chandigarh” this party had not been pressed for resolving inter-state disputes at the time when BJP led governments have been ruling at the centre and in Haryana and Rajasthan.
(Congress leader Aman Jakhar & Gursewak Singh on Ajit Road area)
Meanwhile, supporters of Manpreet Badal led by Aman Jakhar & YC leader Gursewak Singh launched a door to door campaign on Ajit Road and ward no 16 & ward 17. They distributed stickers along with copies of Bathinda vision of the congress manifesto. (APS Brar)