Cong, AAP want to turn state into desert: Badal

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, April 27

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today termed the river water dispute the current biggest problem of the state and asked the people to be prepared for making supreme sacrifices for it.

Badal alleged that the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were jointly hatching a conspiracy to turn the state into a desert by snatching the state’s river waters.

“All of us will have to struggle relentlessly to ensure that not even a single drop of water is taken away from us,” said Badal on the sidelines of his sangat darshan programme in Muktsar town.

He cautioned the people in every ward not to fell prey to the “malicious” propaganda of the AAP and Congress, saying, “Both of these parties are hell bent upon ruining the state. For instance, the Congress had signed various agreements to deprive the state of its river waters.”

Criticising Delhi CM-cum-AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, he said, “The AAP is suffering from the anti-Punjab syndrome as the Congress. The fresh affidavit filed by the Delhi government in the Supreme Court on the SYL issue is just a political stunt. Kejriwal has anti-Punjab mindset and it has already been exposed in its earlier affidavit, which had termed Punjab’s stand on the issue as unconstitutional and anti-national.”

He said Kejriwal hailed from Haryana and so was naturally inclined towards safeguarding the interests of his parent state and nothing good for Punjab could be expected from him.

Meanwhile, he sanctioned huge funds for the development of the Muktsar constituency, including Rs 25 crore for upgrade and revamp of power infrastructure.

Tytler’s letter on 1984 riots

On Congress leader Jagdish Tytler’s letter to Harsimrat Kaur Badal on the CBI giving him a clean chit four times, Badal said, “Various commissions set up by the government have eye-witnesses and even the media reports pertaining to the 1984 Sikh carnage have indicted the Congress for planning a conspiracy to butcher innocent Sikhs. Every Congress leader is responsible for being associated with the party.”

Wheat procurement

Rubbishing all reports of farmers facing problems in grain markets, Badal said the procurement was going on in a smooth and hassle-free manner.

On farmer suicides

“Farming has gradually become a non-profitable profession. There Centre must provide some debt relief to farmers and take some more steps to make it a profitable business,” said Badal.

CM’s call centre

To keep tabs on the implementation of various welfare schemes launched by the state government and know about problems, if any, being faced by the beneficiaries, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has decided to open his personal call centre at his Chandigarh office next week.

Badal said the initiative was taken after a recent surprise check on the progress of the Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojana. “I will randomly make phone calls to the beneficiaries of various schemes. The beneficiaries too will be given a chance to call me. The tele-calling facility will be launched next week in Chandigarh,” he said.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s office said the call centre was likely to be made functional on May 4. “The action taken on the grievances will also be shared with the caller within a short time,” he said.