State leaders failed to plead case for drought relief, says Manpreet

Drought relief could have come to the state, had its ruling and opposition leaders been there to plead the case, People's Party of Punjab (PPP) president Manpreet Singh Badal has said.

Drought relief could have come to the state, had its ruling and opposition leaders been there to plead the case, People's Party of Punjab (PPP) president Manpreet Singh Badal has said.

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"When two union ministers visited the state to assess the drought situation, the chief minister, deputy CM, finance minister, as well as the Leader of Opposition and state Congress president were on foreign jaunts," Manpreet told the media at Teachers' Home here.

He criticised deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal for stating that his government would spend Rs 400 crore to promote hockey. "Don't spend such a big amount on one game alone," said Manpreet. "Instead, create the infrastructure for all games at the grass-root level. Otherwise, you'll end up creating more waste structures such as polytechnics."

He said again that Punjab was on the verge of financial emergency. "With the debt burden on the rise, the government is struggling to pay even the monthly wages of its employees," said the former finance minister. "I still predict a financial emergency in Punjab by December. The state's economy is ruined beyond repair."

He said Sukhbir's proposal of imposing another Rs 4,000 crore indirect taxes on people was regressive. His son, Arjun Badal; and party leaders Bhagwant Mann, Jaijeet Johal, Sandeep Singh Shahi, and Sukhdev Singh Chahal were present.