The Shiromani Akali Dal President Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal today called upon the people to exercise their choice in favour of a man of the masses and not an arrogant ‘Raja’ impervious to the needs of the people. He said the four time Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal was one leader who had devoted his entire life to the people as against the state Congress President Capt. Amarinder Singh, who is still living in the ages of ‘Maharajas’, making tall claims that he would cut the heads of his opponents, once elected to power.
In a statement issued here, Mr. Badal said that Punjab was at crossroads and the people should make their choice judiciously in the context of the unprecedented impetus the economy had received during the last five years of Mr. Parkash Singh Badal’s leadership as any wrong choice would pert the state from this path of accelerated development. He said that this had been possible because it was Mr. Badal who had firsthand knowledge of the socio-economic situation both at the micro as well as macro levels. It was his interactive approach at the grassroots that had provided the blueprint for the state along with the vision for the future that was grounded in reality.
Lambasting at Congress for its anti-Punjab policies, Mr. Badal said that it was not just Capt. Amarinder Singh who was known for his insensitivities towards the people but the Congress itself was anti-people in general and anti-Punjab in particular. It was the Congress which had dealt a serious blow to the state’s economy not only through willful neglect but also by consciously plundering its natural resources. He said that now was the time for the people to once for all consign Congress to the dustbin of history by re-electing the Akali Dal which had historically been rooted among the people.
Opposing the bitterness in electioneering, Mr. Badal said that campaigning has to be on issues but problem with Capt. Amarinder Singh was that he and his party lack positive issues. Mr. Badal said that recruitment of more than one lakh 15 thousand persons in the government departments in that most transparent way had exposed the non-performance of Congress during its rule. Mr. Badal said that initiatives to make state power surplus, computerising all land records, Administrative Reforms, Right to Service Act to ensure time bound delivery of 67 services, Rs 6,967 crore spent on roads, Rs 412 crore spent on ROBs besides a series of another development projects had numbed the Congress leadership that had now resorted to abusive politics to sidetrack the development issue.