Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party today criticised Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for offering sops to farmers and BPL families seeing “imminent and humiliating defeat” of SAD-BJP government which “ruthlessly looted” people of Punjab for 10 years.
Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi, AAP state convener, said that “ironically Sukhbir has no remorse for his past sins and blatant misuse of powers by him, plundering the resources of state and promoting family business”.
He alleged Sukhbir didn’t even spare Sikh book holy Guru Granth Sahib for promoting his “evil” political designs.
Holding Sukhbir and his father chief minister Parkash Singh Badal responsible for suicides of over 30,000 farmers in Punjab during 10 years of SAD-BJP rule, he said it is meaningless to waive the loans of farmers and enhance welfare pensions.
He said that spate of suicides by debt ridden farmers had not moved Badals, rather Akali Dal leaders took an opportunity to grab the land holdings of grieving small farmers.
“The Badal government, instead of giving a healing touch to under debt farmers fudged the figures of suicides to deny compensation to victims and suppressed their protests with the help of police. Out of 200 farmers who committed suicide in last two years in Sangrur district alone, only 27 were paid compensation,” he said.
He said that Badal family was fully responsible for pushing the farmers, poor sections and Dalits to the margin.
He said that SAD-BJP government had paid Rs 250 per month as welfare pension to aged persons, widows and handicapped for nine years and enhanced to Rs 500 per month in the tenth year of their rule.
The welfare pension paid by Badal government was lowest among all states in India, he claimed.
Now making promise to enhance the pension to Rs 2,000 was another bluff of Sukhbir, he alleged.
He said that Sukhbir had made similar false promise with the youth to pay them Rs 1,000 unemployment allowance in the 2012 assembly elections.
He said Dalits had faced unprecedented atrocities in the rule of Badal family.
Referring to Shiv Lal Doda, accused in the murder of Dalit youth Bhim Tank in Abohar, he said that Sukhbir had supported the perpetrator of atrocities on Dalits and even partnered with him in the liquor business.
He said that by offering sops to deprived sections of society, Sukhbir was rubbing salt on the wounds of people.
By shutting down schools and hospitals in villages of Punjab, Sukhbir had tried to keep people uneducated and unhealthy so that coming generations remain dependent on the ruling family’s welfare schemes, he said.