Lashing out at the Akalis and the BJP for their "shameless criticism" of his government's two-month rule, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today said they should be ashamed of such brazen lies, which were completely belied by the actual facts and ground realities.
In a statement here, a spokesperson in the chief minister's office said Amarinder was shocked at the "shamelessness" with which the Akalis, led by former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, and their alliance partners - the BJP, were "resorting to blatant falsehoods in a desperate bid to befool the people".
Their criticism, said Amarinder, was particularly impertinent in view of the fact that it was their misrule of 10 years that had plunged the state to such abysmal depths of despair on all fronts, with a mega debt burden compounding the problems of the Congress government.
"Despite the mess it had inherited, his government had been successful in bringing the state out of the throes of devastation to put it back on the path to progress", said the spokesperson, pointing to "successes" they had notched up on all fronts, including elimination of drugs scourge, industrial revival, steps to waive the farm loans, abolition of VIP culture, educational and transport reforms."
The drug mafia was gasping for breath while industries and business houses were making a beeline for investment in the state, the chief minister pointed out, adding that the situation was in sharp contrast to the one prevailing till two months back, when drug smugglers and peddlers ruled the roost and industries were fleeing the state in hordes.
The chief minister referred to the "smooth procurement" of wheat, with the "highest ever payments released" to farmers in April, to point out the extent to which "the Akalis and the BJP were stooping with their blatant falsehoods, while completing ignoring hard facts that were on record".
He said the last two months have seen a marked improvement on the law and order front, with the common people of the state feeling much more safe and secure than they had felt over the past decade.
The commission set up to ascertain the farm debt quantum and to work out modalities for its waiver was expected to come out with its report soon, to pave the way for total waiver of the farmers' loans, to which he was personally committed, Amarinder said.
Referring to the sacrilege cases, he said his government had not only set up a new commission on inquiry but was mulling steps to enhance the punishment in such cases, based on the opinion given a few days ago by the state Advocate General on amendment to Section 295 IPC.
The chief minister said his government had already ordered a freeze on all 'kurki' (auction), which the former chief minister (Badal) was either not aware of or had deliberately chosen to ignore in order to mislead the people.
Amarinder urged Badal and his associates to stop criticising the government for the sake of criticism and, instead, to join hands in bringing the state back on the path to recovery.
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