The Fact News Service
Sangrur, May 10
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today appealed to Punjabis to send SAD representatives to parliament so that the party could take up all pending issues of the State and resolve them once and for all.
The SAD president, who led the Punjab Bachao Yatra across Bhadaur, Mehal Kalan and Barnala assembly segments of this parliamentary constituency along with party candidate Iqbal Singh Jhoondan, said “this is the reason we have decided to contest alone. We realized that the central government was not resolving any of the issues flagged by us including making MSP a legal right of farmers, safeguarding our river waters for perpetuity, a stop to interference in our religious institutions and release of Bandi Singhs who have been incarcerated for decades even after completing their life sentences. This is when we decided to stand on principles and are committed to fight for the genuine rights of the State, including transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, however long it takes”.
The Punjab Bachao Yatra received a massive response in all the three constituencies with Satnam Rahi hemming it in Bhadaur, Nath Singh Hamidi in Mehal Kalan and Kulwant Singh Kanta in Barnala. The SAD president was showered with flower petals and garlanded profusely in the villages as well as ‘mandis’ along the route of the Yatra even as hundreds of vehicles and youth accompanied him throughout his tour of the three segments.
Speaking at a stop, Sukhbir Badal said “it is a fact that the Delhi based parties have betrayed Punjab and Punjabis. This is the reason why our issues are not being resolved. All Delhi based parties are taking a different stand on important issues like transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab and safeguarding our river waters in Punjab and outside it. These parties, including the AAP, Congress and BJP claim that Punjab does not have excess water when in Punjab but immediately after crossing the border to Haryana they want release of Punjab waters to Haryana”.
Badal also highlighted how the experimentation with Delhi based parties had stifled development and even bankrupted the State. He said both the erstwhile Congress government as well as the present AAP government had not taken up a single infrastructure project in the State. “Even though these governments have nothing to show by way of development, the State’s debt has soared by Rs one lakh crore in two years alone during the AAP tenure”. He said it was also condemnable that the AAP government had discriminated against farmers by denying them crop compensation for repeated crop failures besides refusing to honour its commitment to grant MSP on all crops. “Even social welfare schemes initiated by the SAD have come to a stop even as trade and industry is migrating out of Punjab due to gangster raj and breakdown of law and order”.
