Chandigarh, March 24 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said that the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab was forcing farmers to commit suicide in despair after failing to give them any succour, be it fulfilling the promise to provide minimum support price (MSP) on 22 crops.

Expressing sorrow at the extreme step taken by two brothers – Jaswinder and Jaskaran of Faridkot district after becoming severely indebted, the SAD president said, “AAP promised big but did not deliver anything to farmers. It did not even purchase the ‘moong’ pulse, which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann promised to procure.

“It has not intervened to stop the distress sale of cotton, maize or potatoes. It has not only failed to give the promised Rs 50,000 compensation for crop damage but has also not given any compensation whatsoever to farmers whose crop was damaged across four lakh acres in the floods last year.”

Addressing a rally in Mansa town as part of the Punjab Bachao campaign of the party, along with senior leader Prem Arora, the SAD president said the government was doing nothing except for advertising. He said the AAP government had spent Rs 4,400 crore on advertising, with the latest advertising campaign claiming Punjab was number one in school education.

“This is being done even though national level statistics have rated Punjab to be in the 18th position in school education vis a vis other states”, adding “this is understandable with even the chief minister not trusting government schools to educate his daughter and instead going for the most expensive private school for this purpose”.

Badal also announced that the next SAD government would establish a World Skill Training University in the region. “The university will have an annual intake of one lakh students and will establish centres in each district with the purpose of skilling the youth in partnership with corporate giants. This will make our youth employable and fetch them good salaries”.

He also announced that underground pipes would be installed in the Mansa constituency to provide optimum irrigation services to farmers. Laying out his vision for Punjab, Badal said SAD would not allow water to flow into the Rajasthan canal. “All water diverted from the Rajasthan canal will be diverted to the fields of Punjab.”

Badal also announced he would not allow one drop of industrial or sewage effluent to enter the Sutlej and Beas rivers. “The violators will be dealt with sternly. This is absolutely essential to tackle the scourge of cancer in the Malwa belt”.

The SAD president also announced an ambitious plan to lay concrete on all streets in 13,000 villages in the state, with 2,500 villages being taken under this scheme every year. He said an Rs 10 lakh interest-free loan would be offered to youth, besides restarting an expanded Aata Dal scheme and raising old-age pension to Rs 3,100 per month and Shagun allowance to Rs 1 lakh.

He announced all farmers bereft of a tubewell connection would be given this facility, besides 12-hour power supply during the daytime and that 75 per cent subsidy would be given to establish dairy and other livestock ventures.

Senior leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, while speaking on the occasion, said the erstwhile SAD government had spent Rs 650 crore on the development of Mansa, which included laying of sewerage facilities in the city, six water works, reverse osmosis systems in each village and revamp of rural and urban infrastructure.

–IANS

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