Says peace and communal harmony must remain top priority
Chandigarh/Badal, March 11, 2017: SAD supremo and Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Parkash Singh Badal today “bowed his head with humility before the verdict of the people of Punjab” and said that he and his party fully respect the mandate and will perform totally in accordance with its intent and meaning. I am deeply moved with profound gratitude towards the people of my constituency Lambi for standing by me in a most difficult hour and humbling the in-coming Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh with an emphatic and unequivocal mandate. I can never repay my people of Punjab for what I owe them in life."
Mr Badal also congratulated Captain Amarinder Singh and the Congress party on their decisive victory and extended his best wishes and constructive cooperation in fulfilling manifesto promises and protecting the interests of the state . The outgoing Chief Minster said that the new government’s top priority should continue to be the preservation of peace and communal harmony, welfare of farmers, dalits, youth, women and the rural and urban poor.
Meanwhile, Mr Badal’s Advisor on National Affairs Harcharan Bains told newsmen that the Chief Minister will be in Chandigarh tomorrow morning and is likely to call on the Governor at Punjab Raj Bhawan there . He is also likely to address Chandigarh newsmen at his residence sometime later in the afternoon
In a statement here, the Chief Minister said that his party will continue to fight to safeguard the state’s interests on all issues, especially the river waters. “As long as we have been here, we never allowed even a single brick to be laid to construct the SYL. Punjab has a strong case in river waters in Supreme Court now. The new government should also show the same resolve that we did on pursuring this case. In fact, SAD-BJP govt has made the task much easier for the new govt to handle by returning the SYL land back to original farmers and owners and taking other strong legal and practical steps to make the canal construction impossible. The Congress, whose governments and leaders at the center and in Punjab were responsible for compromising the state’s interests on river waters and for starting the digging of this canal at Kapuri should now show courage to disown Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s legacy on this and other issues affecting Punjab openly. They should instead now stand by what the SAD-BJP have done and by the farmers and people of Punjab . We will back the new govt to the hilt in this. In fact, We have already cut the path clean for them . ”
Mr Badal also urged the new establishment “not to reverse our decisions on free power to farmers and domestic power to dalits and the poor, shagun scheme, scholarship schemes atta daal scheme , free teerath yatra, free treatment up to Rs one lakh to all Punjabis, Rs 1.50 lakh free treatment to cancer patients etc. In fact, these schemes are now due for an upward revision of the amount of support .
“We are handing them a Punjab which is famous the world over for peace and, communal harmony, and is at its peak in pace of development and social welfare policies. We had inherited a state which had continuous power cuts lasting 14 to 18 hours daily . We are leaving it as the first power surplus state in the country .Similarly, we have turned the corner in financial health through
effective financial management , reducing the state’s Debt-to-GSDP ratio from 48 % when we took over to just 31% now. The state ranks Number One in the country in General Infrastructure, Number On Health infrastructure, Number One in air connectivity, Number three in education, Number one in sports, the last two being crucial areas for youth. The new govt should take it forward from there.”
Mr. Badal also hoped that now that elections have been won and lost, Congress and AAP would stop painting Punjabis as drug addicts. “These Punjabis have now given the Congress a decisive and forceful mandate. Therefore, I believe the Congress should now admit that it was a sin to dismiss 70% of Punjabis as drug addicts. The party must stop humiliating Punjabis at least now. ”
Striking a personal chord in a statement here, Mr Badal thanked Punjabis “for almost a century-old bonds of love and trust between him and the people. They have given me more love, more trust, more honour and more support than they have given to anyone else in living memory. In return, I have spent every minute of my life sweating it out amid and for them. This is a life long romance and the people have every right to admonish or even punish me for anything
in which they think I did not live up to their expectations. I must seek their forgiveness with folded hands wherever they think I have not delivered as per their dictates. They have always been my masters, next only to the God and the great Gurus. I will continue to live and work to deserve their love.”
Mr Badal said that the best way for the Congress to thank the people of Punjab for this mandate is to fulfill the promises they have made to the people in their manifesto. “The manifesto was prepared by none other than the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, a world renowned economist. All the promises have been made by him on the basis of his knowledge and understanding of the health of Punjab economy. Promises like hiking pension and shagun scheme amount and reducing electricity rates can be fulfilled at the first meeting of the new cabinet. Similarly, they should waive farmers’ loans at the first cabinet meeting and give top priority to providing 30 lakh jobs to youth. We will whole heartedly support these and similar other welfare measures,” said Mr Badal.
Mr Badal said that the SAD would play the role of a constructive opposition as per the dictates of Punjabis. “We will extend full support to the new government in safeguarding Punjab’s interests and taking Punjab forward from where we have brought it.