Sukhbir Badal campaigns for party candidate in Tarn Taran

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday announced that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)-run Baba Budha Sahib Charitable Hospital, Thatha, has been made a centre of Guru Ramdas Medical University and that now it would provide the same facilities as being provided in the university.

The SAD president, who addressed booth-level meetings in favour of the party’s Tarn Taran by-election candidate Principal Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, said, “We have upgraded the hospital following a demand from residents of the constituency.” Medical university Vice-Chancellor Dr A P Singh, who was also present on the occasion, said the hospital would not only be upgraded but would also provide medicines to patients.

Sukhbir announced that a nursing college would be started from the very next semester in this town on the land belonging to the SGPC.

Meanwhile, booth-level meetings witnessed a large presence of women and youngsters. The SAD president said the AAP government had disappointed both women and youngsters. “Women were promised Rs 1,000 per month and the state government already owes each woman Rs 45,000 each as they have not been paid this promised amount for the last nearly four years.”

Sukhbir said the youth of the state had been betrayed. “The state government, on AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s orders, had given employment to as much as 50 per cent outsiders (youngsters). These outsiders are from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana,” said the SAD chief.

Asserting that the next SAD government would stop the injustices being meted out to youth, he said government jobs would be offered to Punjabis only. He said similarly all new industrial units would have to keep at least 80 per cent Punjabis on their rolls. Sukhbir announced that they would ensure that the culture of the state is not changed and its farmers are not evicted from their land. He said if SAD is voted to power, they would ban the sale of agricultural land to outsiders.

He spoke on how social welfare schemes, which were first diluted during the Congress regime, had now been stopped altogether during the AAP tenure. SAD is committed to restoring all social welfare schemes and even expanding them by allocating ‘pucca’ houses to all poor persons living in ‘kutcha’ houses, he said.

Senior party leaders accompanying the SAD president included Gulzar Singh Ranike, Gaurav Valtoha, Alwinder Pal Singh Pakhoke, Iqbal Singh Sandhu , Paramjit Singh Gaggobua and others.