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AAP’s ad spend at Punjab farmers’ cost, says SAD president
Stating that ₹700 crore had been earmarked for advertising by AAP government, Badal alleged that public funds were being diverted to further agenda of the party in other states.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday launched a scathing attack at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and termed the chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government as “anti-farmer and anti-industry”. Addressing a press conference at meeting hall near Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran, Badal also urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commute death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict on death row in connection with the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.
Stating that ₹700 crore had been earmarked for advertising by the “APP government”, Badal said public funds were being diverted to further the agenda of AAP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, and even Tamil Nadu.
He said even as money was being “wasted” to strengthen AAP, farmers had not been paid compensation for crop damage or incentive of ₹1,500 per acre for direct seeding of paddy and ₹2,500 per acre for not burning their stubble.
Badal said even dairy farmers and the dairy movement in the state had been “backstabbed”, as the government did not compensate farmers for loss of milch animals to lumpy skin disease. Even the ‘aata-daal’ scheme had been done away with affecting consumers badly, he added.
The SAD president held a number of meetings here and constituted a four-member panel of observers to shortlist probables for the municipal corporation elections. Badal alleged that the chief minister’s own credibility and standing had also taken a major hit when he was “caught lying” while claiming that automobile firm BMW would establish a car manufacturing plant in Punjab. Badal also pinpointed the recent alleged deboarding of CM Mann from an aircraft in Frankfurt.
