Taking a jibe on the ongoing tug of war amongst the state Congress leadership over ticket allocation, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that Congress was a ‘divided house’ which was hardly a match for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).Interacting with the media persons on the sidelines of Sangat Darshan program in Kartarpur assembly segment here today, the Chief Minister said that Congress was basically an indisciplined party, which was divided into various factions, due to which a squabble for ticket allocation was going amongst all the leaders of the party. Mr. Badal said that the pulls and pressures within the Congress party were evident from the delay in its ticket allocation. He said that such party grappling with intense infighting could never compete SAD, which was a cadre based and disciplined party.Replying to another query, the Chief Minister reiterated that there was hardly any impact of Lok Sabha MP Mr. Sher Singh Ghubaya’s son joining the Congress party. He said that though Akali Dal has made Mr. Ghubaya a MLA and then MP but it was unfortunate that even then they were not satisfied. Mr. Badal said that the shifting of allegiance by Mr. Ghubaya’s son for the lust of power was really regrettable.
Earlier addressing the public gatherings during Sangat Darshan in village Lambra and Athaula, the Chief Minister, while taking the Congress party to cudgels, said that the Punjabis could never forgive the Congress party for its sins against Punjab. He said that Congress has irrelevantly meddled in the social, political, economic and even religious affairs of the state adding that the Congress governments at the centre had deliberately denied the state of Punjabi speaking areas, its capital Chandigarh and even its legitimate share in river waters. Mr. Badal said that no true Punjabi could ever forgive Congress for sins like Operation Blue Star and the killing of innocents in 1984 anti-Sikh carnage.The Chief Minister further said that Congress party was the perpetrator of a deep rooted conspiracy to deprive the state of its waters by constructing the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. Mr. Badal said that this canal was aimed at ruining the state by snatching its only available natural resources from the state. He said that despite of immense contribution of Punjabis in national freedom struggle, successive wars in post independence era and even in making the country self reliant in food production, the successive Congress governments have meted out step motherly treatment to the state.
The Chief Minister said that only SAD was the true custodian of the interests of Punjab and its people. He said that the last around ten years of rule of SAD-BJP alliance was testimony to the fact that the state government has delivered every promise made to people. Mr. Badal called upon the people to hand over their destiny in right hands by forming SAD-BJP alliance government for third consecutive term. He said that every vote for alliance in coming poll would be a vote for stability, development, peace and right governance in the state.Listing the major pro-people initiatives taken by the state government, the Chief Minister said that the SAD-BJP alliance government has supplied free power to the farmers of the state at a cost of Rs 5000 crore annually to bail them out from agrarian crisis. He further said that Punjab was the only state in the country to provide Atta-Dal scheme to the weaker sections adding that it was also the only state to ensure free treatment for fatal diseases like Cancer and Hepatitis C. Mr. Badal further said that in another historic decision it has been decided that all the farmers would be provided a health insurance cover of Rs.50,000 and an insurance of Rs.5 lac in case of accidental death or incapacitation of head of family.The Chief Minister was accompanied by Akali leaders Seth Satpal Mall, Jathedar Ranjit Singh Kahlon, Jathedar Rajinder Singh Nagra, his Special Principal Secretary Mr. KJS Cheema, Deputy Inspector General of Police Mr. SK Kalia, Deputy Commissioner Mr. KK Yadav and Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Harmohan Singh.