Terming the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the ‘two sides of a coin’, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal cautioned the people of the state to beware of the cheap political gimmickry of both these parties.Addressing a massive gathering during the political conference to mark the Maghi festival here today, the Chief Minister categorically said that the tactics being adopted by both these parties were detrimental for the people. He said that both these parties resort to such cheap tactics just only to befool the voters as all their promises prove mere lip service, later on. Badal said that since decades the Congress leaders have befooled the public by raising hollow slogans and now AAP leader Kejriwal was walking on the footsteps of the Congress. Making a scathing attack on the AAP leadership, the Chief Minister said that they were entirely confused about their policies and programs adding that Delhi Chief Minister Mr. Arvind Kejriwal would prove to be a flop show after next two-three months. He said that Mr. Kejriwal has become the Chief Minister of Delhi by chance due to which he was utterly confused about what to do. Taking a dig at ‘Janta Darbar’ of Delhi Chief Minister, Mr. Badal said that Darbar were being held by the Monarchs whereas the representatives of the people hold ‘Sangat Darshans’, like one done by him since decades. Coming down heavily on Congress led UPA government at the centre, the Chief Minister said that the time has come when this most corrupt and inefficient government of the country must be shown the door. Exhorting the people to rout the Congress in the coming general elections, he said that the need of the hour was to wage a ‘second war of freedom’ to oust this government, which has made the life of every person miserable. Mr. Badal said that this war was utmost important not only for cherishing the aspirations of our great forefathers who had laid down their lives for freeing the country from the clutches of British imperialism but it was also required to safeguard the future of our coming generations.
The Chief Minister said that the Congress was the mother of all the social maladies confronted by the nation today. He said that due to the misrule of the UPA government the nation was not safe both internally and externally due to which the sovereignty of the nation was in peril. Mr. Badal further said that the anti-farmer’s stance of the UPA government has broken the backbone of the farmers of the state due to which they were reeling under a whopping debt of Rs 32000 crore. The Chief Minister said that on the one hand the Union government was bent upon crushing the peasantry of the state whereas on the other hand the SAD-BJP government in Punjab had given a major relief to them by giving free power worth Rs 6000 crore to the farmers. Likewise, he said that due to the concerted efforts of the Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab would soon become a power surplus state. Mr. Badal also listed a number of pro-people welfare schemes initiated by the state government to benefit every strata of the society. ‘Due to our stupendous efforts Punjab was today leading the country in almost every field” he added. The Chief Minister said that the tyrannies of the Congress with the state have surpassed even the record of Mughals and Britishers as this anti-Punjab party has irrelevantly meddled not only in social, economic and political but even the religious matters of the state. He said that the Congress has inflicted a severe blow to the Punjabis by depriving them of their capital, legitimate share in river waters and even Punjabi speaking areas. Mr. Badal said that the people of the state could never forgive the Congress for its sinister moves and would teach it a befitting lesson in the coming general lessons.
The Chief Minister further said that the countrymen were fed up from the arbitrary rule of the Congress led UPA government and the coming Lok Sabha polls would decimate this party from the nation. Equating the current anger amongst the public to ‘Janta Wave’ in 1977, he said that even the Congress stalwarts would find it difficult to save their seats in this anti-Congress wave. Mr. Badal said that it was writing on the wall that the BJP led NDA government was all set to form its government at the centre as the people of the country were eagerly waiting for making Mr. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of the country. Reiterating that there was hardly any match between Mr. Modi and Congress Vice President Mr. Rahul Gandhi, the Chief Minister said that while the former was a respected public leader with proven skills of an administrator, the latter was a novice with no experience of public life. He said that the young Nehru-Gandhi scion was like an inexperienced driver who was bound to topple the bus during the journey. “The countrymen should not take the risk of handing the reigns of country in such immature hands” added Mr. Badal. Assailing the state Congress President Mr. Partap Singh Bajwa, the Chief Minister said that by opposing the central grants to the state the former has proved that he was inimical to the interests of the state. He said that by indulging in such activities Mr. Bajwa had done irreparable loss to the state.Meanwhile in his address President Shiromani Akali Dal and Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal came down heavily on state Congress Chief Mr. Partap Singh Bajwa by terming him the “biggest smuggler” involved in a number of scams and frauds besides indulged in smuggling of narcotics and sex scandal. In an aggressive tenor, he said that Bajwa has been shielding the smugglers and drug peddlers in the state. Mr. Badal also said that Bajwa’s close association with the terrorist outfits was also no longer a secret now and Bajwa’s deceitful antecedents have also been exposed by Party’s former President and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.Reiterating the commitment of the Punjab government to extensively check the smuggling of narcotics in the state,
Badal said that under the declared war against drugs, the state has nabbed 25000 drug peddlers in the state for the last one and a half years and this campaign would be continued. Nobody would be spared if found indulged in drug smuggling directly or indirectly, he added.Giving a call to the people especially the youth to show the congress a door in the coming general elections, Mr. Badal said that the days of the corrupt scam ridden UPA government headed by the congress party, were numbered and the nation was looking forward to the NDA government with Mr. Narendera Modi as the Prime Minister. He assured that once NDA comes into power, the water logging problem in the Malwa belt of the state would be a national mission and it would be completely eradicated on priority besides addressing other issues which have been constantly ignored by the congress governments.Referring to the hollowness of the Aam Admi Party ruling in Delhi, Mr. Badal said that the programmes and policies of which they were talking about have already been implemented by the Punjab Government headed by S. Parkash Singh Badal 25 years ago. Complementing the 85 year old diligent and determined S. Parkash Singh Badal, the SAD President said that AAP got tired of holding Public Darbars in just one day while the Chief Minister at this age worked for 20 hours a day.Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Cabinet Minister Mr. Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Lok Sabha MP Mr. Sher Singh Ghubaya, Advisor to Chief Minister on Media and National Affairs Mr. Harcharan Bains, Advisor to Chief Minister Mr. Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, Assistant Media Advisor to Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Harjinder Sidhu, State BJP President Mr. Kamal Sharma, MLAs Mr. Darshan Singh Kotfatta, Mr. Harpreet Singh and Mr. Gurtej Singh, former Union Minister Mr. Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, former President Municipal Council Mr. Mit Singh Brar, former MLA Mr. Sukhpal Singh Nannu, senior Akali leader Mr. Manjeet Singh Barkandi, Youth Akali leader Mr. Kanwaljeet Singh Barkandi, SGPC President Jathedar Avtar Singh and senior leaders of SAD-BJP alliances besides members of SGPC.