Will reinstate pro-people policies if voted to power: Sukhbir Badal at Samrala rally

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday promised to reinstate pro-people policies if his party is voted power in the Assembly elections, due in 2027.

He was addressing a rally in Samrala as part of SAD’s ‘Punjab Bachao’ movement.

Sukhbir promised the people special facilities, such as tubewell connections to all farmers, interest-free loans of Rs 1 lakh for self-employment, restoration of the atta-dal scheme and enhanced financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1 lakh for marriage of girls in weaker sections of the society.

He also promised a world-class skill university.

The SAD chief said the proposed university will have at least one college affiliated to it in each district.

“As most of social evils have genesis in unemployment, we plan to impart skill education to at least one lakh youngsters every year,” he said, maintaining that the industry will be an integral part of the drive to ensure the youth’s employability.

He added a pilot project was running in Muktsar and will be adopted across the state soon.

Hitting out the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for what he termed as “tax terrorism against the business community”, Sukhbir said the traders were facing GST raids as officials were given targets beyond the size of the business they were targeting.

The SAD chief announced the reintroduction of the ‘rahat scheme’, which deals with one-time settlement of taxes.

Advocating governance by regional parties, he alleged national parties, like the Congress, AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were least concerned about safeguarding interests of the people of Punjab.

Interacting with the media, the SAD chief urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate steps to evacuate all Indian citizens from war-affected countries.