The Punjab Congress has lambasted the Badal government for trying to befool the people by camouflaging the birthday celebrations of the Chief Minister as the launch of their anti-SYL campaign with public funds.The Congress was reacting to reports that the state government was pulling all sops and planning to spend lakhs from the state exchequer to make the celebrations, also being pitched as the start of the Akali election campaign, a success.Warning that the celebration rally in Moga on December 8 will further drain the exchequer of the already bankrupt Punjab state, the Punjab Congress said though Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was trying to peoject the event as launch of their battle against SYL, the fact of the matter was that from a political standpoint, the Akalis considered Moga lucky for them to embark on their election campaigns.Further, the fact that the event is coinciding with the birthday celebrations of the chief minister lends even greater credence to the suggestion that the entire event is politically motivated, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) leaders Laal Singh, Sunil Jakhar and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said.
The PPCC leaders described the planned event as yet another display of the Badals’ brazen misuse of official authority to promote their personal interests. The inauguration of Sukhbir Singh Badal’s Sukhvilas resorts has already raised the heckles of the common people of the state, who can easily see through the SAD’s nefarious designs to loot them till their their last day in office, which is now just some weeks away, they added.With the Sukhvilas, in which Sukhbir and his wife have majority interest, being opened for business just two months ahead of the polls, it has become more than evident that the Badal government is trying to push through all its businesses and schemes before the Code of Conduct comes into place, said the PPCC leaders.The Badals, said the Punab Congress leaders, are going berserk misusing their official powers to fund party events and plastering the state with party hoardings/posters etc.The advertisement blitzkrieg unleashed by SAD shows the extent to which the Badals are misusing public funds to promote the party in the run-up to the assembly polls, said the PPCC leaders, referring to media reports to point out that the state government’s advertising budget has gone up 300-fold this fiscal as against last financial year.While the ruling SAD is able to secure ad space on no-profit-no-loss basis, others end up paying 15-20% more, they pointed out.The PPCC leaders reiterated their demand for the Election Commission to impose the Code of Conduct in the state immediately to prevent the ruling party from further abuse of their office and public funds.