Tag: Punjab poll

Talking to mediapersons after addressing a public gathering at Jalalabad, the SAD president said the very fact that the Congress government had not proceeded to bring the sacrilege perpetrators to book had emboldened them and this was why more such incidents were happening now. “But even now the Congress party has not learnt any lessons. Even now it has ordered a police inquiry into the recent incidents of sacrilege instead of giving the case to a sitting high court judge to get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy.”

Asserting that the SAD did not want to play politics on this sensitive issue unlike the Congress party, Sukhbir said the government had raised question marks about its intentions by refusing to take concrete action in case of the incident of sacrilege of the Sri Gutka Sahib in the Sri Darbar Sahib sarovar recently. “The culprit was caught and handed over to the police but it failed to take any action in the case. This deliberate laxity on the part of the Congress government led to an even more revolting case of sacrilege in the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Harmandar Sahib,” he said.

Asked which seat he would contest in the Assembly elections from, Sukhbir said he would contest from Jalalabad constituency. Once a SAD-BSP government was formed, the SAD would field a candidate from the Rai Sikh community to represent the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat.

The SAD president held several programmes in the constituency during the course of which he promised to give another push to development of the border area post-2022 polls. “The border areas were developed at a rapid pace during the last SAD-led government but all work came to a standstill during the last five years of Congress rule. We will kickstart development in the border area and take it to the next level by modernising all villages and bringing in industry to ensure employment of youth.”

He announced that the SAD was committed to introducing underground pipe water system in the border belt besides ensuring a tubewell connection to all farmers who did not have one. He assured that farmers would get adequate cover for any damage to their crops with the introduction of crop insurance cover of Rs 50,000 per acre. He said simultaneously the SAD-BSP alliance was committed to all sections of people.

“We have assured traders that they will get an insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh for fire, medical and life insurance. Similarly students have been assured an interest-free student loan to cover their study expenses both in India and abroad. Children from government schools will be able to avail of free technical education and seats would also be reserved for them. Similarly, to encourage youth to take on entrepreneurship, we have committed to granting them a Rs 5 lakh interest-free loan to set up their own businesses.”

During an event at Jhoke Deepu Lana village, sitting chairperson of Fazilka Block Samiti Bago Bai and her husband deserted Congress party and joined the Shiromani Akali Dal Fazilka candidate Hans Raj Josan, Abohar candidate Mohinder Singh Rinwa and party leaders Satinderjit Singh Manta and Ashok Aneja too accompanied the party president on his tour of the constituency.