DW BUREAU / Ludhiana

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said both the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had failedPunjabis and appealed to them to vote for the SAD to put Punjab back on thepath of progress and prosperity.

The SAD president, who held a number of meetingsin the city and nearby areas which received a tremendous response, said"remember June 1, 1984 when you set out to cast your vote on the same day. Thisis the day Indira Gandhi attacked Sri Darbar Sahib with tanks and mortars. Thiswas also the time when the Congress party sponsored a genocide against Sikhsacross the country". Stating that no one should vote for the Congress, MrSukhbir Badal said "this party also failed you when it ruled this State. It didnot waive off your loans as promised nor gave ghar ghar naukari".

Speaking about AAP, Mr Badal said experimentingwith this party had cost Punjabis dearly. "This party had made your life hell.It promised to end the drug menace but is presiding over its spread. Itpromised women Rs 1,000 per month but did nothing and is instead giving jobs tooutsiders at the expense of Punjabi youth".

The SAD president in a frontal attack on chiefminister Bhagwant Mann, said "never before has Punjab witnessed such a chiefminister who has dishonoured the State while being debarred from an aeroplanein an intoxicated state in Germany". He said the chief minister and his familywere also misusing State resources. "AAP was supposedly against VIP culture andsecurity but is misusing thousands of police personnel solely to protect thechief minister, the latter's wife, sister and mother. It almost feels as if theState has four chief ministers". He also castigated the chief ministerfor ignoring Ludhiana and added that Bhagwant Mann had even ignored his ownconstituency of Dhuri which he had visited twice in the last more than two anda half years.

Speaking about the development done by the SADunder chief minister S Parkash Singh Badal, the SAD president said "we changedthe face of Ludhiana by planning and executing the elevated road as well asflyovers and overbridges. We improved the civil amenities. No new project hascome to the city in the last seven years of Congress and AAP rule". He appealedto the people to support their own regional party - the SAD to bring back theera of development as well as ensure the voice of Punjab could be heard inparliament.
(editor@dailyworld.in)