Thousands of youth congregated here today to support the Youth for Punjab campaign launched by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal and vowed to start a “hak sach di ladai” against the “khooni panja” and “ outsider topiwala” and usher in reelection of the SAD-BJP combine in the 2017 assembly elections.Virtually sounding the 2017 election bugle amidst thunderous slogans of “Sukhbir teri soch te pehra dayange thok ke”, Youth Akali Dal (YAD) supporters overflowed from the huge ‘shamiana’ erected in the party office and even jammed neighbouring roads and areas in their enthusiasm to give a befitting reply to the Congress for discriminating against Punjab and AAP for defaming Punjabis. The youth asserted they would stand up for the honour of Punjab and propagate the teachings of the Gurus for all round development of society.Leading from the front, Sukhbir Badal gave an open challenge to the Congress and the AAP to try their might against the YAD. “No amount of coffee drinking bouts or defamation by outsiders will help either the defunct Capt or the liar Kejriwal”, the SAD president said adding “today’s rally has made it clear that the youth of Punjab is with the SAD-BJP combine. Today I get the same feeing as I did in December 2010 when youngsters got together and started a movement which eventually resulted in victory for the SAD- BJP alliance in 2012", he added.
Making it clear that the tidal wave in support of the SAD would percolate down to the grass root level in days, the SAD president directed SAD general secretary Bikram Singh Majithia and YAD Patron Sharanjit Dhillon to spread this movement to each and every constituency in Punjab. “Within three months the khooni panja and the outsider topiwala should both be eradicated from the State”, he added.Amidst enthusiastic sloganeering of Youth for Punjab - “Punjab Punjabian da” which continued for one hour and even endangered the stability of the stage for a moment, Mr Badal also congratulated the youth for giving a resounding slap to AAP and the Congress. He said the unprecedented drug test done on more than one lakh youth as part of the ongoing police recruitment process had seen them come out with flying colours. “Less than one per cent youngsters were tested positive”, he added.
Mr Badal also related how SAD, which was a 95 year old party, had played a stellar role in the freedom movement and even afterwards by saving the waters of Punjab from being parted from the State. He said all development which had come into Punjab including building of two airports, thermal plants, Thein dam and world class road infrastructure had occurred under the chief ministership of S Parkash Singh Badal. "Even now Sardar Badal's firm stand that Punjab does not have a single extra drop of water and that the canal will not be allowed to be constructed at any cost has saved the 'Kisani' of Punjab and saved its fields from turning into deserts". He said in direct contrast Kejriwal had betrayed the farmers by giving them assurances but took Haryana's side in the Supreme Court.Earlier in a stirring speech SAD general secretary Bikram Majithia set the tone for the programme by thanking the youth for starting a tidal wave in Amritsar to register a spontaneous protest against Arvind Kejriwal which had reached the State capital today. Stating “abhi to party shuru huyi hai”, Majithia said Punjabis were known to stand up for their honour. He went on to up the ante and even the sentiments of the youth by saying “anakh saadi nu kisi ne vangaraya te sar dhar di baazi la devaange”.
In another political development which is bound to be taken seriously by the panthic votebank, Mr Majithia likened Arvind Kejriwal to the late Indira Gandhi. He said just like Indira had sent tanks into the Darbar Sahab and her son Rajiv Gandhi had justified the massacre of thousands of Sikhs after his mother’s death, the AAP under Kejriwal had compared its youth manifesto with Guru Granth Sahab ji.In a frontal attack on Kejriwal, who was even referred to as Natwar Lal by Majithia, the SAD general secretary asked the AAP leader not to hoodwink and deceive Punjabis with his lies like offering 25 lakh jobs knowing full well that he would have to dish out 1350 jobs per day and one job per minute for for five years to fulfill this fake promise. Stating that the Delhi CM’s pack of lies had also been exposed by the Delhi high court which upheld the powers of the Lt Governor, he said the truth was that Kejriwal was leading a pack of thieves akin to the Arabian Nights tale Ali Baba Chalis Chor. “How else can you justify the fact that 15 to 20 of his mlas are set to go to jail with many of them being involved in heinous crimes like rape, molestation and even sacrilege of the holy Koran.”
Majithia also took AAP mp Bhagwant Mann to task for being caught in a drunken state in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahab. Stating that Mann also believed in theatrical lies he asked the youth whether they believed the AAP mp had left his family for Punjab as stated by him. When met with a resounding no, he emphatically said Mann tried to copy the martyr Bhagat Singh by tying a similar turban but that he was not even a match to the martyr’s ‘jutti’. Majithia referred to Ashish Khaitan as Ashish Shaitan for committing sacrilege against Guru Granth Sahab ji besides castigating AAP leader Durgesh Pathak for making derogatory remarks that the Sikhs of the Guru were bereft of intelligence.Stating that the “Lut Kho Party”, the new term which he coined for AAP, would meet its nemesis in Punjab, Majithia said the fight for 2017 was a fight for Punjab. “Eh hak sach di ladai hai”, he said adding "Punjabis would go to any extent and make any sacrifice to protect the honour of Punjab and its youth".Among others present on the occasion included Irrigation Minister Punjab Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, CPS N.K. Sharma, Advisor to the Deputy Chief Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Media Advisor to the Deputy Chief Minister Jangveer Singh, OSD to the Deputy Chief Minister Parminder Singh Brar, President Youth Development Board Punjab Parambans Singh Bunty Romana and top brass of SAD and YAD.