Akalis plundered Punjab of its natural resources: Sidhu
Says Sukhbir Badal’s 13-point agenda a new lollipop; terms Centre’s 3 farm laws a clumsy ploy to break backbone of state’s economy
FARIDKOT/MOGA: Newly appointed Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday accused the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) government of plundering Punjab of its natural resources, saying Sukhbir Singh Badal’s 13-point agenda is a new ‘lollipop’ ahead of the assembly elections.
Addressing party workers’ meetings in Faridkot and Moga, Sidhu said Punjab needs the “state income agenda” and not false promises. He said, “(SAD chief) Sukhbir Badal should make it clear where would the resources come from to make the agenda a reality. The promises made by the SAD and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to provide free electricity are nothing but a lie. Punjab is a welfare state, but the SAD-BJP government plunged it into a debt of
Rs 1.5 lakh crore.”
He said that the previous government plundered the natural resources of Punjab. “Telangana is earning Rs 4,000 crore from mining every year due to their policy. But in their 10-year rule, the SAD-BJP government put only Rs 400 crore in the exchequer as sand revenue, which was now being increased by Rs 300 crore a year by the Congress regime. I assure you I will
increase it to Rs 1,000 crore a year. Punjab was dominated by the cable, sand, and transport mafias besides others,” he added.
Also, the previous government entered into power pacts keeping their vested interests in mind, the Congress leader said.
“Due to these pacts, the state is purchasing electricity at higher rates. I assure you that we will cancel the power purchase
agreements (PPAs) and provide electricity to industry at Rs 5 per unit and residential units at Rs 3 per unit,” he added.
Also, the three agriculture laws introduced by the Union government are a clumsy ploy to break the backbone of Punjab’s economy, he said. “The PPAs and three black farm laws would be repealed in the next assembly session.
Targeting the AAP, Sidhu said
Punjab did not need the Delhi model and that there was no factionalism in the Punjab Congress now. The state Congress chief announced that he would start constituency-wise rallies after August 15.
Congress MLAs Harjot Kamal, Sukhjit Singh Kaka Lohgarh, Darshan Singh Brar and MLA Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon were present. State Congress acting president Pawan Goyal accompanied Sidhu.
Covid-19 norms were violated during the meetings addressed by Sidhu as more than 1,000 people each had gathered at both the venues.