Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that the wise people of the state never forgive the opportunist and treacherous political leaders who ditch their mother party for the sake of short term benefits.Interacting with the media persons on the sidelines of Sangat Darshan program in Mehal Kalan assembly segment here today, the Chief Minister said that the leaders without any principles could never succeed in the politics as the Punjabis have strong disliking for them. He said that one should be loyal to his party and its policies adding that the person who does not stand by his party was bound to go to oblivion.The Chief Minister said that there would be hardly any impact of former MP Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu leaving his party, the BJP. Likewise, Mr. Badal said that he has not yet received the resignation of Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mrs. Navjot Kaur sidhu.
Replying to another query, the Chief Minister said that there was no competitor of SAD-BJP alliance for the ensuing electoral battle. Mr. Badal said that owing to its pro-people and growth oriented policies the alliance would score a spectacular win in the coming assembly polls.On another query, the Chief Minister said that only the Union government was authorized to waive off the loans of farmers towards the banks adding that the state government has hardly any role in it. Likewise, Mr. Badal said that he had been regularly pleading for making all out efforts to make agriculture a profitable venture. He said that all the powers regarding fixing the prices of crop and agriculture inputs were vested with the union government. The Chief Minister said that on its part the state government was providing free power worth Rs 5000 crore annually to the farmers besides ensuring Health insurance and an interest free crop loan worth Rs 50000 to them.
Slamming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress for defaming the state, the Chief Minister said that both these anti-Punjab forces were tarnishing the image of state by labeling the hard working and resilient Punjabis as drug addicts. Mr. Badal said that earlier the Congress labeled the Punjabis as terrorists and now both these parties were branding Punjabis as drug addicts.Earlier addressing the gatherings during Sangat Darshan, while slamming the Congress party for its anti-Punjab stance, the Chief Minister said that the Congress was inimical to the state from day one as it denied Punjab of its legitimate territorial rights in terms of its Capital, share in river water besides attacking on Sri Durbar Sahib thereby hurting the religious sentiments of the Punjabis in general and Sikh community in particular. Likewise, he said that the Sikhs could never forgive the Congress for the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 in which thousands of innocent Sikhs were brutally killed.
The Chief Minister reiterated that both Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were hobnobbing with each other to snatch legitimate share of Punjab's water. He said that while Congress had in past signed various water agreements to deprive state of its river waters, the AAP was now trying its level best to ensure that these agreements were implemented at the earliest. Mr. Badal said that it was a known fact that both these parties were hell bent upon turning the state into desert by depriving it of water.The Chief Minister said that the affidavit submitted by AAP government in Delhi against the interests of state on SYL issue in Apex court has exposed the anti-Punjab stance of this party. Likewise, he said by equating their manifesto with the sacred texts of all religions AAP leadership has insulted every religion of the country.The Chief Minister was accompanied by former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, former MLA Mr. Ajit Singh Shaant, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Dr S Karunaraju, Deputy Inspector General of Police Mr. Balkar Singh Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner Mr. Bhupinder Singh Rai and Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Gurpreet Singh.