Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the ‘aam aadmi’ was most distressed in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government with people being denied basic facilities like roads, street lights and sewerage even as the poor were being denied social welfare benefits.
The SAD president, who travelled across Tarn Taran and Khadoor Sahib assembly constituencies as part of the Punjab Bachao Yatra which received an overwhelming response with thousands of motor-cycles, cars, jeeps and tractors taking part in it, said “this government cannot aspire to represent the common man who is suffering in this regime which is being run by remote control from Delhi and is being used to spread the wings of AAP across the country rather than fulfill the aspirations of the ‘aam aadmi’ in Punjab”.
The SAD president interacted with labourers who said they were worst affected in the AAP regime with nothing being done to safeguard their interests even as all labour work by government departments had been outsourced to outsiders. Another body representing the handicapped association also met Sukhbir Badal and relayed how they were lathi charged when they tried to present their demands before the chief minister. People also came up to Badal and complained that they were not getting the stipulated wheat under the atta-dal scheme. The SAD president assured them that the SAD would work to ensure the atta-dal scheme was implemented as per the vision of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal by distributing pulses also under the scheme to the beneficiaries.
Sukhbir Badal said infrastructure had gone to rot during the AAP regime be it link roads or sewerage systems or even streets and street lights in villages. “It seems as if the chief minister is least concerned about the welfare of the people and is busy in publicity stunts and ferrying his boss Arvind Kejriwal on chartered planes from one place to another”.
Speaking at Tarn Taran, Badal said the historic city would be put on the world map once the SAD was returned to power. “We will rebuild the entire area around the old town and turn it into a heritage centre in the same manner in which the precincts of Sri Darbar Sahib were turned into a heritage street”. He said besides this priority would be given to give a makeover to all rural roads as well as ensure smooth functioning of the sewerage systems in all towns and cities”.
Speaking at Khadoor Sahib, the SAD president said “once our government is formed, we will come out with a separate plan for developing the entire border belt including inviting industry to invest in this area besides encouraging establishment of micro and small scale industries and revitalizing old industrial estates like the one at Goindwal Sahib”.
Senior leaders who accompanied the SAD president in this leg of the Punjab Bachao Yatra included Bikram Singh Majithia, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, Harmeet Singh Sandhu, Alwinder Singh Pakhoke, Iqbal Singh Sandhu and Ravinder Singh Brahmpura.