The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today condemned finance minister Manpreet Badal for lying on the sacred occasion of Maghi at Muktsar by stating the Congress government had fulfilled 128 out of 428 promises made by it and asked him to specify the promises as he seemed to be fulfilling them on paper only.In a statement here, former Bikram Singh Majithia said it was shocking that Manpreet Badal had tried to befool and deceive Punjabis at a conference held to pay tributes to the 40 martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the Sikh panth. “I don’t know from where the finance minister has pulled out the 128 figure. He should specify if these promises have resulted in extension of any benefit to Punjabis. If not he should apologize to the people for lying to them on a sacred occasion”.Stating that Manpreet Badal could not escape his responsibility, the Akali leader said Manpreet had authored the election manifesto of the Congress party and even announced that he had planned execution of all 428 promises made to the people. “It is shocking that now he is claiming that 128 promises which do not have any financial implication are being fulfilled. We are grateful that he had exposed himself by letting out this truth inadvertently. He should come clean on this issue immediately and tell Punjabis why he has failed to deliver on any of the major promises made by him instead of resorting to skullduggery and trying to show performance where there is none”.
Asserting that this conduct did not behove a person holding the high office of finance minister, the Akali leader it was shocking that the Congress party continued to lie and deny farmers a genuine loan waiver due to which farm suicides were increasing by the day. “The youth has got severely demoralized as the government has failed to do anything for them leave aside implementing the ghar ghar naukari scheme”. Mr Majithia said the truth was that even facilities which were being given to the poor and disadvantaged one year back during SAD-BJP tenure had been stopped. “This includes old age pension, aata-daal scheme, shagun scheme, medical insurance to farmers and free domestic supply of 200 units to backward castes”. He said instead of doing anything positive, the finance minister had killed the economy of his own town by shutting down the Bathinda thermal plant and displaced thousands of employees and their families. “He has also stopped development of towns by not releasing funds for sewerage projects. He has recalled all village grants. Even domestic consumers have been burdened to with taxes to give so called concessional power to the industry which is also not taking place. He needs to tell Punjabis why he has done all this instead of making empty claims and dishing out lies to hide his failures”, Mr Majithia added.