हिंदी
(Thousands come out to meet and greet S Sukhbir S Badal and register a strong protest against both the AAP and Cong govts for denying them social welfare benefits extended by the erstwhile SAD govt)
Amritsar, February 5, 2024
The Punjab Bachao Yatra evoked a historic response in the holy city with thousands coming out to meet and greet Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, especially people from the weaker sections of society who registered a strong protest against both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress governments for denying them social benefits extended by the erstwhile SAD government.
Amidst a sea of Kesri and to the sound of “Utho vi sher Punjabio, Punjab Bacha lo”, the SAD president mingled with the people who showered him with flower petals and garlanded him profusely as he toured five assembly constituencies in the city”. All along the route the SAD president met people from all walks of life and appealed to them to hasten the end of the corrupt misrule of the AAP government by snubbing the party in the forthcoming parliament elections”.
A large number of old people approached the SAD president at India Gate in Amritsar West assembly constituency and informed him that their Blue Cards had been revoked by both the previous Congress government and then by the AAP government. Women including Sawinder Kaur and Narinder Kaur from Kale Ghanupur village and Lakhwant Singh and Basant Singh from Chhehratta said this was done without any logic as they qualified for subsidized ration. Interacting with the people, Mr Sukhbir Badal said it was extremely sad that octogenarians were being driven to despair by the AAP government which wanted to reduce the financial outlay of social welfare schemes.
Asking chief minister Bhagwant Mann to tell why social welfare benefits were being denied to the people, Mr Badal said “the Shagun scheme has been discontinued even as the old age pension scheme and atta – daal schemes were severely pruned”. He said as many as 40 lakh people were denied subsidized wheat under the atta-dal scheme, saying “such inhuman acts can never be expected from an elected government”. People also approached Mr Badal with huge bills they had received while asserting that the subsidized power facility was being implemented partially only to take publicity from the exercise. Mr Badal castigated the chief minister for failing the poor and downtrodden. “Mr Bhagwant Mann does not have any time for the poor as he is busy serving the interests of his boss Arvind Kejriwal by ferrying him from one place on chartered flights on Punjab government expense”.
People also appealed to the SAD president to start a drive against the drug menace which they said had crossed all limits. A woman approached Mr Badal saying chief minister Bhagwant Mann was directly responsible for the spread of the drug menace and that a people’s movement led by the SAD should be initiated to curb it. The SAD president assured that once the SAD came to power it would put all drug traffickers behind bars. He said AAP legislators who were providing patronage to drug traffickers by coming in the way of their arrest would also be punished as per the law.
During another interaction, Mr Badal asserted that first Capt Amarinder Singh had failed Punjab by making false promises and now Bhagwant Mann was making the State bankrupt by borrowing Rs 60,000 crore in the space of two years only. Senior leaders Anil Joshi, Bikram Singh Majithia, Talbir Gill, Surjit Singh Pehalwan and Gurpreet Singh Randhawa also participated in the Yatra among others.
