 "Parkash Singh Badal (Photo: Wikipedia)")
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today told the people of the state to be wary of the "nefarious designs and false propaganda" unleashed by the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to "deceit" the innocent voters by "promising a moon" to them only to capture power in the state "by hook or crook".
Addressing a gathering after paying tributes to Mata Gujri and the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh, here at the 'Shaheedi Conference', he said god forbid, in case these "anti-Punjab and anti-Sikh" parties were "inadvertently" voted to power, they would "ruin" the state's rich cultural legacy based on the age-old traditions of love, peace, brotherhood and harmony.
Badal alleged that the leaders of these parties were "inimical" to the interests of Punjab and would again push the state into a phase of economic backwardness, thereby halting the process of overall development and prosperity achieved due to the concerted efforts of the ruling SAD-BJP alliance through a decade-long hard work and systematic planning.
The Shiromani Akali Dal leader claimed that if voted to power, the Congress as well as the AAP would discontinue with several pro-people schemes and subsidies.
Badal alleged that during his stint as the Punjab chief minister, state Congress chief Amarinder Singh had discontinued with the free power scheme to the people and added that welfare schemes were a "distant dream" during his regime.
He said that the ruling combine had taken a number of "pro-people and pro-farmer" initiatives such as the Atta-Dal, Pension, Shagun, Mai Bhago Vidya schemes, Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Beema Yojna and free power for agriculture.
The chief minister reiterated that Punjab neither had spare water to share with anyone, nor was there any need to construct the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, adding that "nobody would be allowed" to construct it in the future.
He said water was the basic ingredient of life and any move to share the state's river waters would be disastrous as it would "devastate" Punjab, adding that there was no question of constructing the SYL canal as it was a "closed chapter" now.
Badal alleged that while signing the SYL canal agreement, the then Congress government at the Centre had "blatantly ignored" the universally accepted Riparian Principle on river water sharing.
"Every Punjabi is duty-bound to oppose the move and all of us should pledge to protect the waters of the state at any cost," he said.
