CHAMKAUR SAHIB (ROPAR), November 21: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh today told the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy Chief Minister son Sukhbir Badal that Punjab’s youth today want jobs and not just his kabbadi shows and semi-nude dances. He also asked the father-son duo to spell out which development they were claiming to have done.
Addressing a well attended public rally as part of the Punjab Bachao Yatra here today, Capt Amarinder asked Mr Badal to mention one single project or thing his government had done that would have generated a single job. Instead, he added, the Badals only wanted to add to their own wealth already running into thousands of crores of rupees. He pointed out, while the Badals were getting richer and richer Punjab was getting poorer and poorer.
Drawing a stark contrast between the wealth accumulated by the Badals of which they must have lost the count themselves even, which included properties in India and abroad, super-luxury hotels in Gurgaon worth two thousand crores, the PCC President pointed out, against that, Punjab was getting poorer and poorer. He pointed out, while Punjab had accrued an overall debt of Rs 1.72 lakh crores, Badals personal wealth had increased in the same proportion.
The former Chief Minister said, Punjab was getting poorer as Badals had looted and robbed the state of its precious wealth. “The sand mines have been grabbed by them, so is the transport, so is the liquor trade, so are the cable operations”, he pointed out while adding, not just that they have been diverting the government money to their own channel. “And how can we expect Punjab to progress and prosper when its precious resources are being looted by the Badals”, he asked.
Capt Amarinder said, the entire Punjab was disillusioned today. “Take any section of the society, be they the farmers, the traders, the industry, the students, the youth, everybody is unhappy and alienated and everybody wants to get rid of these thugs and robbers”, he said, while warning that the alienation was assuming dangerous proportions.
Referring to the recently concluded kabbadi tournament, he said, the Badals extorted money worth crores of rupees from the sponsors. Besides, he pointed out, it was not a world cup and only a way to extort money from people. “Moreover, the cup made more news for the doping and dancing than the game itself”, he remarked.
Addressing the rally, the party incharge for Punjab Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak said that the Congress President Ms Sonia Gandhi was aware of the pain and violence inflicted on the Congress workers by the Akalis. He said, she had told him to convey her message to people of Punjab that she knew their pain and she was with them.
Mr Charak said, the Congress was the only party that took along and took care of every section of the society be they the dalits, the minorities or anybody else. He assured and promised that each and every section of the society will get its due and no section will be ignored. He said, he wanted to assure all those who were expressing such apprehensions that Congress does not and will not ignore any section of the society.
Speaking on the occasion, the Congress Legislative Party Leader Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said, the massive presence of people at the Congress rallies was the last nail in the coffin of the Badals. She said, the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had always betrayed the panth and had exploited and looted all the institutions related to it.
She said, Mr Badal was the most ungrateful Chief Minister who despite getting liberal aid and grants from the government of India was still alleging discrimination. She said, Badal should be thankful for the generous aid granted to Punjab by Dr Manmohan Singh.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included local MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, Chaudhary Jagjit, MLAs Rana KP, Charanjit Singh Channi, District president Sukhminder Singh Whisky, Amarjit Singh Saini, Kamal Saini, Gurkirat Kotli and others.