The Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today described the Budget presented in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today as “anti farmer, anti Dalit, anti Youth and anti-employees.The resource mobilization figures of Rs 9000 crores show that the government will break the back of Punjabis with a burden of fresh taxes of Rs 9000 crore.” Mr Badal said that the budget is a huge fraudulent exercise in fudging of figures. “ It shows the bankruptcy of ideas the Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal who has fabricated and fudged figures.” Mr Badal and the former Finance Minister Mr Parminder Singh Dhindsa addressed a joint press conference on the budget this afternoon. The two leaders said that that the budgetary estimates n salaries bill clearly reveal that that this government has no intention or plans to provide any jobs to the youth of Punjab. Thus their fraud of Ghar Ghar Naukri promise has been thoroughly exposed. They have made a mockery of it further, by replacing the slogan with Ghar Ghar Haryal. What could be a bigger joke with the youth of Punab than this. ? Instead of making any provision for new jobs for the youth, the government has floated a scheme for employment centers on which it will spend 20 crores. They don’t have money to pay DA but are still burdening the treasury with this extra load.”
Mr Badal accused the Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and the Local Bodies Minister Mr Navjot Singh SIdhu of revealing the budget before its presentation to the House. “This is a criminal offence and a breach of privilege of the House. Both ministers deserve to be sacked. It has never happened before in the History of the country that the sacred budget is revealed before it is presentation to the House. “ Mr Badal said that the SAD-BJP will bring a privilege Motion against the two Ministers. He said that the legal measures were also being considered to take action against the ministers for their criminal offence.“Unknowingly, the government has issued a White Paper on its Black Deeds of the previous year’s non- performance and betrayals,” he said. “The budget is a written proof of the this government’s betrayal of every section of Punjabi society , particularly of the farmers, the farm labour, the dalits, the youth, the employees, the women and the senior citizens.More especially, the budget is an admission that the government has totally backed out of all the promises made by it to the people before the elections. It has stabbed the farmers in the back going back on its promise of of Rs 90,000 crore debt waiver to the farmers . The government blatantly lies about its commitment to the farmers, the one section whom it has stabbed in the back the most on the debt waiver. And it has made no allocation in this budget to help the Mother of Green revolution, the Punjab Agricultural University.”
The government has also betrayed the employees of the state as there is no mention in the budget of the Pay Commission. The government also keeps a criminal silence over DA to the employees.Mr Badal said that the government claims that it will levy no fresh taxes but then it talks of additional resource mobilization of Rs 9000 crores, which is a clear proof that it will burden the Punjabis with taxes later. The SAD President said that the budget is full of contradictions. There is a serious mismatch between the promises being made in this budget and the sources of revenue revealed by the government. For example, the government has inflated the revenue figures by at least Rs 9000 crores.The Government has similarly suppressed it expenditure as on Salaries and Wages, pensions and retirement benefits. The government speaks of its commitment to the farmers, the one section whom it has stabbed in the back on the debt waiver. And it has made no allocation in this budget to help the Mother of Green revolution, the Punjab Agricultural University.” The budget also puts in writing the government’s betrayal of the employees as it refuses to make any commitment on the Pay Commission . Further ,”the government has also backed out of an expected increase of 10% in the salaries and wages of employees for which the government needs Rs 2500 crore whereas only 750 crore have been kept as a budgetary provision, a huge gap of 1750 crore under one head alone. These figures amount to approximately Rs 5500 crores.The Government is anti Dalit and the proof of its attitude lies in the fact that while it has kept Rs 2 crore for the Samadhi of late CM Beant Singh, it has not a allocated a penny for Sri Guru Ravi Dass ji’s memorial at Khural Garh (Hoshiarpur) . The SAD BJP govt spent Rs 100 crore on the Yadgar.