The Punjab Government would soon extend the Atta-Dal Scheme to 30 lac families.An announcement to this effect was made by the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today at a largely attended political conference of SAD at historic Chhapar Mela here. He said that presently only 15 lac families were getting the benefit of this scheme. Mr. Badal said that he had directed all the Deputy Commissioners to complete all the requisite formalities in this regard swiftly to ensure the issuing of cards under the scheme to the new beneficiaries in next two months.Lambasting at the Congress led UPA government at the Centre Mr. Badal said that it had surpassed all the limits of corruption and completely betrayed the people of the country. He said that UPA government had completely lost the confidence of the people and its days were numbered due to indulgence in sheer exploitation of the common man. Large number of scams and scandals being exposed everyday and now the time has come when people will show them the door, said Mr. Badal.
Referring the recent UNO Committee Report in which India is rated even below Pakistan and Bangladesh at 113th position, Mr. Badal said that maladies like unemployment, illiteracy, poverty and above all inflation had enormously affected the life of a common man only because of wrong policies and programmes of the UPA government. Whereas, SAD-BJP state government was performing its duty toward the people in a complete transparent and accountable manner but the State Congress leaders were envious of the day-by-day increasing popularity of SAD and BJP, added the Chief Minister. Mr. Badal Categorically said that he was confident that SAD-BJP alliance would keep on ruling the state for ever instead of 25 years as people say because of its pro-people polices and programmes.
Training guns at Congress leadership in the state, the Chief Minister said that the Congress has always meted out step motherly treatment with Punjab despite of enormous contribution of state during the freedom movement and consequently in making the country self sufficient in food production. These state Congress leaders had never raised their voice against this unfair treatment and now they were criticizing SAD-BJP unnecessarily. He said that the successive Congress governments at the Centre had always ignored the interests of state. Mr Badal pointed out that recently the Union government had extended the Industrial benefits to the neighboring states ignoring Punjab’s legitimate rights. Punjab has been worst sufferer of the apathetic attitude of the Centre because of its deliberate formulations of stringent parameters to exclude the state from the ambit of these schemes.
In his address President Shiromani Akali Dal and Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal said that SAD-BJP government was sensitized to the problems of people at the grass root levels whereas the Congress never bothered about their genuine problems for the reasons best known to them. He said SAD-BJP alliance had drawn a roadmap to ensure overall development and prosperity in the state. He pointed out several path breaking initiatives have been taken in the field of agriculture, power, infrastructure, education, health and Industry. Soon Punjab would emerge as a power surplus state in the country, added Mr. Sukhbir. He said that the SAD-BJP government was the only state government in the country spending Rs.6000 crore annually to provide free electricity to the Punjab's farmers that provides benefit of about Rs. 90,000 annually to each.Sukhbir Singh also said that the government had launched a crusade against the Drug menace in the state and arrested 1200 persons including some police personals in one month involved in drug trafficking. The Deputy Chief Minister also issued a strictly warning to the Police and other officers that any one found helping any drug peddler would be directly terminated in future.The Deputy Chief Minister called upon the people to give fulsome support to bring NDA in power at the Centre in forth coming Lok Sabha elections to initiate a new era of country’s development and prosperity in the right earnest. He also said that the coming years would completely transform the entire picture of the state and it’s functioning as major initiatives were being taken by the state government to ensure the welfare of the people and development of the state.
Prominent amongst those were present on the occasion included Secretary General SAD & Member Rajya Sabha Mr. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Information and Public Relations Minister Mr. Bikram Singh Majithia, Advisor to Chief Minister Mr. Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, PWD Minister Mr. Sharanji Singh Dhillon, former Union Minister Mr. Baldev Singh Ramoowalia, Mr. Manpreet Singh Ayali, Mr. Darshan Singh Shivalik, Mr. S R Kaler, Mr. Iqbal Singh Chunda and Mr. Ranjit Singh Dhillon ( all MLAs), Senior SAD leader Jathedar Santa Singh Umedpuri, Mr. Ranjit Singh Talwandi, Mr. Bikram Jit Singh Khalsa, Mr. Bhag Singh Mallah, Mr. Harjit Singh Grewal, Mr. Jagjit Singh Talwandi, Mr. Simranjit Singh Dhillon, Mr. Kamaljit Singh Mallah and Mr. Yadwinder Singh besides many other SAD and SGPC leaders.