Sangrur Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday claimed that the BJP is preparing to strike a deal with the Akali Dal on the condition of bringing back the three “black” farm laws, and alleged that the proposed Akali-BJP alliance was being stitched solely for “political gains”.
He further said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was ready to “sell anything in Punjab” for a political chair, asserting that Punjabis would never vote for the BJP.
Addressing a gathering during Lok Milni here, Mann said the Akalis always adopted an “anti-Punjab” stance by joining hands with forces inimical to the interests of the state.
“Akalis are ready to join hands with the saffron party for the sake of power. This shows that the Akali leadership has no ideology left and is ready to compromise the interests of Punjab for power,” he alleged.
The chief minister warned the people that if voted to power, the SAD-BJP alliance could once again impose “draconian” farm laws on farmers.
He said the leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal was “on its knees” to ally with the BJP ahead of the state assembly polls.
“The people of Punjab will not be misled by the political tantrums of these parties and will teach them a befitting lesson in the coming days,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“The people of Punjab will not be misled by the political tantrums of these parties and will teach them a befitting lesson in the coming days,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Punjabis will send the Akalis and the BJP into political oblivion because of their “sins” against Punjab and its people, he claimed.
Highlighting works undertaken by his government since assuming office in 2022, Mann said the government focused on holistic development and introduced reforms across power, sports, education, healthcare and other key sectors.
“Today, after four-and-a-half years, I am standing before the people after fulfilling every single promise made to them and delivering all the guarantees. During the previous regimes, people lived in an atmosphere of fear and trauma, while drugs destroyed generations of Punjab’s youth,” he said.
He said these traditional political parties had always protected each other’s interests while in power and used to play “musical chairs”, waiting for their turn to govern.
Referring to the drug menace, Mann said that the traditional political parties had inflicted irreparable damage on Punjab’s youth and people knew who had allowed the drug trade to flourish.
“Those who promoted and patronised the drug trade cannot be allowed to return to power. If these parties come back, they will once again misuse authority to exploit Punjab and its people,” he said.
Lashing out at SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Mann said that he is “disconnected” from the ground realities of Punjab because he had spent his life in a secure environment surrounded by “luxury and opulence”.
“Sukhbir Singh Badal is a convent-educated political leader who does not know the basic topography of Punjab but wants to rule the state. Leaving everything else aside, he cannot even differentiate between the basic crops of Punjab because he has little understanding of the basic issues faced by the people,” he said.
The chief minister said the Congress has no vision for Punjab and alleged that its only objective was to “assume power and plunder the wealth of the state”.
He said the Congress was a “divided house” that would collapse because of its internal fighting.