Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday launched a pointed attack on chief minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing his government of corruption and alleging that people facing serious criminal charges were being given protection in return for crores.
Addressing a party conference here as part of the SAD’s Punjab Bachao campaign, Sukhbir alleged that Mann and his wife, Gurpreet Kaur Mann, had helped secure the release of media influencer Guri Chahal, who has been accused of raping two women.
Sukhbir alleged that five women had initially approached the chief minister seeking action against Chahal, but no relief was provided to them. He claimed that after two of the women subsequently registered rape cases against Chahal in Amritsar and Mohali, Gurpreet Kaur Mann began negotiating with the accused.
Sukhbir alleged that the chief minister called the police chiefs of Amritsar and Mohali, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and Harmandeep Hans, to his residence and instructed them to dilute the cases against Chahal. He claimed this ultimately resulted in Chahal being released from jail within two months, while police in both Amritsar and Mohali filed cancellation reports.
Sukhbir said the SAD will seek justice for the women and action against all those responsible, including police officers.
{{/usCountry}}Sukhbir said the SAD will seek justice for the women and action against all those responsible, including police officers.
{{/usCountry}}The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been refuting the allegations, terming them politically motivated and aimed at tarnishing the state government’s image.
Questions Amritpal’s credentials
The SAD president also criticised the Waris Punjab De outfit and questioned the credentials of its head, Amritpal Singh, the jailed Khadoor Sahib MP.
He alleged that Amritpal had adopted the Gursikh identity only around four years ago before entering politics and claimed that his family had been aligned with the Congress for more than 36 years.
Accompanied by Bassi Pathana halka in-charge Darbara Singh Guru, Sukhbir also announced an action plan that he said the SAD would implement if voted to power in 2027.
He said the party would work to prevent polluted water from entering Punjab’s rivers, channelise rivers to address flooding and provide tubewell connections to farmers who did not have them.
Sukhbir also announced that farmers would be allowed to seek individual ownership of their land and that residents living within the “lal dora” would be given ownership rights over their plots.
He said the Shagun benefit would be increased to ₹1 lakh and old-age pension to ₹3,100, while ‘aata-daal’ beneficiaries would receive 50 kg of wheat.
For youth, Sukhbir announced an interest-free loan of up to ₹10 lakh. He also said government jobs would be reserved for Punjabis and that industries would be required to provide 75% of their jobs to Punjabis. He further announced that the minimum support prices (MSPs) for milk and vegetables will be fixed.