The Congress on Friday staged protests across Punjab against the BJP-led government at the Centre for its alleged anti-people policies which has resulted in unprecedented economic slowdown and unemployment.
Participating in a protest in Ludhiana, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sunil Kumar Jakhar said that the Union government was wilfully ignoring the interests of the government departments and institutions and wais instead promoting big corporate houses.
“Besides, the BJP has caused a huge damage to the backbone of the Indian economy by implementing the Goods and Service Tax and demonetisation,” he said.
Mr. Jakhar said that the previous UPA government under the leadership of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had worked hard to stabilise the economy. But ever since the BJP-led NDA formed government at the Centre, it has destabilised the economy to an extent that it would take ages to stabilise it again.
“The Central government has been involved in providing undue benefit to select big corporate houses and experimenting with the economy. Government institutions such as BSNL, Indian Oil, BPCL etc are being targeted wilfully by the Centre so that the select corporate houses get benefited,” he alleged.
Mr. Jakhar said that to check the menace of stubble burning, the Centre should also come forward to help the farmers financially.
“The Supreme Court has directed an additional compensation of ₹100 per quintal to farmers who do not burn paddy stubble. The Centre should share this additional financial burden of ₹1,700 crore if they actually want to help the farmers,” he added.
‘Political gimmick’
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party senior leader and Leader of the Opposition, Harpal Singh Cheema, termed the ‘dharnas’ by the Congress as a political gimmick to mislead the people of the State. “The Congress is staging sham 'dharnas' across the State in an attempt to deflect attention from the unfulfilled poll promises it made to the people during the 2017 Assembly elections,” said Mr. Cheema.
