Senior Congress leader and former union minister Manish Tewari today said that the Akalis in Punjab had nobody to blame now for its own failures at the centre since they were the alliance partners of the government there.“Earlier the Akali-BJP leaders will try to pass on all the blame on the centre alleging that they were being discriminated against and now it is their own government at the centre and things have only gone from bad to worse”, he pointed out in an informal conversation with reporters after inaugurating a tube-well near Ward 48, Ishmeet Chowk at Shastri Nagar, besides attending some other functions, here today.The tube-well was constructed with the Rs 15 lakh grant provided by him from his MP’s local area development fund.Referring to some pressing issues particularly the severe shortage of power, Tewari asked, where has the surplus power gone? “Years ago we were told by this government that the surplus power will be exported to Pakistan, but it has not been able to maintain even the regular supply”, he said, while pointing out the agriculture sector was worst hit as the farmers were not getting any power.
“Theoretically they are getting free power, but actually they are not getting any power at all and they have to spend money to run their diesel operated motors to irrigate their fields”, he said, while referring to the miserable plight of farmers.Similarly, the former minister also referred to the closure of about 18,000 industrial units from Punjab and lot of these from Ludhiana. He said, it was because of power shortage and extra costs and wrong taxation policy of the government that industry was running away leading to revenue losses and unemployment.
The senior Congress leader said, while the state government had been exposed about its lies and false dreams for the last seven years, the BJP led NDA government at the centre of which the Akali Dal was a part and parcel had exposed itself in less than two months. “All their promises have fallen flat and proved hollow and hoax”, he remarked, while adding, “they stand naked and exposed about the lies they told people to rob their votes”.Among others present on the occasion included former minister and MLA Rakesh Pandey, DCC president Pawan Dewan, Parminder Mehta, Sushil Malhotra, DCC treasurer Rajiv Raja, Sunil Datt, Baljinder Bunty, Palwinder Taggar,