AAP lambasts Badal family for promoting own transport as state-owned transport bleeds

5 Dariya News

Chandigarh 16-Feb-2016

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), lambasted Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal led government on Tuesday for promoting own transport business in Punjab while causing huge financial losses to the state owned transport. Coming down hard on Badal and his Deputy Chief Minister son Sukhbir Badal who owns a large fleet of private buses, AAP's Sangrur MP, Bhagwant Mann cited the concern expressed by Punjab Roadways Employees Joint Action Committee yesterday.Mann said the committee clearly exposed the Badal family by revealing that due to anti-state transport policies formulated by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led government in the past, the Punjab Roadways has been incurring financial losses for many years. On the other hand the Badal family owned transport business flourished in the state with impunity, added Mann. In a bid to keep the Badal family and its cronies in good humor the state government has turned a blind eye and failed to stop private buses from plying illegally on various routes that led to the bleeding of the state transport over the years. 

Mann said AAP would fully support the committee's stir against the Badal government to save the state transport system. Meanwhile AAP's Legal Cell Head and senior leader Himmat Singh Shergill said the Roadways employees have completely exposed Badals and how their own vested interests have completely destroyed the state transport system. The committee's startling disclosures have also established how Badals have direct conflict of interests running their private businesses while also managing affairs of the state government at the same time. ”Badal government has been making tailor made policies to suit their own business interests at the cost of public undertakings", said Shergill. The committee had revealed that since 1997 when the SAD-BJP government came to power the Punjab government had not added a single bus the Punjab roadways fleet from the government budget. "New buses were being added to the Punjab State Bus Management Company Limited (PUN-BUS) fleet after taking loans from the banks", the committee had said.