Sukhbir Badal to undertake 100-day yatra across Punjab

Chandigarh, Aug 17 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal announced on Tuesday that he would undertake a 100-day yatra across 100 constituencies in Punjab starting Wednesday to expose the 'corrupt' and 'scam-ridden' Congress government as also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Addressing the media here to launch the party's campaign 'Gall Punjab Di', the SAD chief said he would hold 700 public meetings and address each and every section of the society during his 100-day yatra during the course of which SAD workers would go to each and every village and ward in the state.

He said the purpose of this exercise is two-fold: To bring the corruption of the Amarinder Singh-led government as well as his council of ministers before the people, and to collect feedback from the people as to what they expected from the next SAD-BSP government.

Punjab is scheduled to go to the polls next year.

Sukhbir Badal also released a chargesheet against the Congress and AAP on the occasion.

He said while Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has a lot to answer vis-a-vis the Rs 6,500 crore excise scam, five of his ministerial colleagues have been accused of indulging in corruption.

Taking the Chief Minister head-on, Sukhbir Badal said Amarinder Singh has destroyed Punjab in the last four-and-a-half years. He said Punjab has the misfortune of having a Chief Minister who doesn't come out of his home, doesn't meet even his own ministers, doesn't listen to the people and even teachers seeking to meet him are thrashed brutally.

He said the only work the state government has done is to loot the state treasury.

"Nothing has been done in the way of development. In fact, gangsters have been patronised and are wantonly running extortion rackets from inside state jails."

Stating that SAD alone represented the regional aspirations of Punjabis who have been betrayed by both the Congress and AAP, Sukhbir Badal said that the Congress state unit receives orders from the Gandhi family which has a history of being anti-Punjab.

He said the Congress has not only indulged in scams, but has also followed its Central leadership's announcement and amended the APMC Act.

He said the Congress also mismanaged the Covid-19 crisis besides causing untold misery to the farmers by failing to supply power to them during the paddy season.

Speaking about Kejriwal, Sukhbir Badal said the AAP convener wants to implement a failed Delhi model in Punjab. He also termed Kejriwal as a 'master of deceit'.