Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday dared the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal to make his stand clear on the Punjab’s territorial issues.
Addressing the people on the last leg of three-day Sangat Darshan programme here, Mr Badal said Mr Kejriwal should desist from befooling people as his stoic silence on Punjab issues was creating apprehensions in their minds about his so called “loyalty, sincerity and commitment” for the development of the State and welfare of its people.
He said Mr Kejriwal being Haryanvi was tight—lipped and not coming up openly to show his cards on safeguarding the rights of Punjab on several contentious issues like river waters, Chandigarh as capital and transfer of Punjabi speaking areas to the State.
‘Apathetic attitude’
These issues were hanging fire for long due to the apathetic attitude of the successive Congress-led governments at Centre, he said.
He said Mr Kejriwal’s “dubious character” has been unmasked due to recent instance of his Delhi Government submitting an affidavit in Apex Court against the interests of Punjab on Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) issue.
Mr Badal appealed to the people to be judgemental enough to identify the political leadership which was sincerely working for the welfare of the state or others indulging in cheap politics like the AAP and the Congress with sole motive to rule the State to satiate their lust for power.
Holding Congress party squarely responsible for the decay of local industry in the State, he said that liberal financial incentives and concessions given to hill States had severely hit the industry which resulted in mass exodus of several industrial units from Punjab to the neighbouring States like Himachal Pardesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
Mr Badal said he is fully seized of the matter regarding the various gangsters operating in Punjab and is being regularly updated by DGP Suresh Arora.
He said that the law and order was the top most priority of the government and the same would be maintained at all costs. -- PTI
