Denouncing the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as "anti-Punjab", Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today claimed that the ruling SAD-BJP combine has been the "harbinger of record progress" during the last nine years.
He said the ruling combine was adopting a "developmental approach" while alleging that both the Congress and the AAP did not "care a fig" about Punjab and had a "single-point agenda of grabbing power" for which they were even ready to cause destruction of the state.
Addressing a Sangat Darshan programme of 56 panchayats of Banga, Sukhbir claimed the state government had successfully implemented various welfare schemes to uplift the standard of living of the people, besides making Punjab a power surplus state and transforming the road infrastructure.
Touching upon schemes such as atta-dal, free power, 'shagan' and health insurance, he said the recently-launched free health insurance scheme has taken 40 lakh people within its ambit.
The Deputy Chief Minister said development-centric works were being speedily executed now as the same combine was ruling the state and at the Centre and thus, the SAD-BJP should be given the third chance in Punjab to continue the "chain of development".
He claimed the state witnessed a developmental phase only after the ruling combine assumed power under the leadership of Parkash Singh Badal.
Later, during his interaction with reporters, Sukhbir accused AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of trying "to vitiate the atmosphere of the state" and of "deliberately defaming" Punjab and Punjabis.
He alleged that Kejriwal was "ignorant" of the glorious history, culture and traditions of Punjab and was trying to "befool" Punjabis because of his "greed".
Mounting an attack on the Congress, Sukhbir accused former chief minister and current state unit chief of the party Amarinder Singh of not initiating even a "single development-oriented project" during his tenure.
He alleged that the successive Congress regimes at the Center always "discriminated" against Punjab.
He refused to comment on the emotive Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue as the matter was sub-judice but asserted that the Akalis were ready for any sacrifice to protect the interests of the farming community in Punjab.
