AAP govt pushed Punjab back into age of darkness: Sukhbir Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday accused the Aam Aadmi Party government of pushing Punjab back into the age of darkness by bankrupting the state power utility, besides refusing to give any incentive to the industrial sector to set up units in the state.

AMRITSAR

The SAD chief said CM Bhagwant Mann was trying to mislead the Punjabis by indulging in a name-changing spree. (HT photo)

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday accused the Aam Aadmi Party government of pushing Punjab back into the age of darkness by bankrupting the state power utility, besides refusing to give any incentive to the industrial sector to set up units in the state.

Addressing a press conference after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, he said: “The AAP government has not increased the power generation capacity during its tenure. Besides, it is not paying subsidy to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), pushing it to bankruptcy.”

Asserting that part of the power needs of the state were being served by two thermal plants of Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo which chief minister Bhagwant Mann had announced to close, Sukhbir said: “These thermal plants supply power to the state @ ₹2.80 per unit. The shortfall in generation is being met by purchasing power at ₹8 to 10 per unit and the situation would get worse in summer. This will threaten the paddy crop, besides dealing a crippling blow to the industrial sector.”

The SAD chief said CM Bhagwant Mann was trying to “mislead” the Punjabis by indulging in a name-changing spree. “The AAP government has gone in for a massive exercise to repaint and renovate government buildings to establish Aam Aadmi Clinics. Initially, 100 sewa kendras were converted to such clinics and now 540 rural dispensaries have been converted into Aam Aadmi Clinics. The government is now in the process of changing the nomenclature of meritorious schools, “he added.

He also lashed out at the BJP-led Haryana government for giving preferential treatment to Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim. ‘’Parole is given for a limited period for a specific reason. It cannot be given repeatedly to fulfil the political agenda of the BJP in Haryana,” he added.