Badal urges partymen to go with development agenda in polls

Parkash Singh Badal asked the party rank and file not to get distracted by opposition parties who were "hell bent upon making false promises with the sole purpose of deceiving the people".

Chandigarh: Ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal today asked the partymen to contest the forthcoming assembly elections on the development plank.

He asked the party rank and file not to get distracted by opposition parties who were "hell bent upon making false promises with the sole purpose of deceiving the people".

Chief Minister pressed for a positive campaign in 2017 polls, focussing on the work done by the SAD-BJP government during the last about ten years.

Addressing senior leaders including MPs, ministers, legislators, district presidents and other key functionaries, Badal said never had so much been achieved in such a short span of time.

Akali patriarch said the SAD-BJP government had delivered in every aspect of governance.

He made a special mention of the heritage works including the heritage street, partition museum and interpretation centre, saying they had put Amritsar on the world map.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal urged the leadership to expose the "false" promises being made by the Congress as well the same manner in which former party leader Giani Zail Singh had promised to give 5 acres of land each to the poor.

"The people did not get even one inch of land", he said and in stark contrast, the SAD-BJP government was focussing on houses for the houseless by allocating five marlas of land for this purpose.

He said debt tribunals were being established in all districts to ensure "all loans" taken by farmers were settled at the earliest.

He said steps were also being taken to ensure farmers did not have to pay any interest on cooperative loans.

Sukhbir said AAP on the other hand was party of "fly by night operators" who were outsiders who did not know anything about Punjab and its people.

"Moreover, AAP's own track record in Delhi where they have failed to implement any of their poll promises speaks for itself", he added.

Earlier,at the start of the meeting the entire leadership observed a two minute silence to mourn the passing away of Charanjit Singh, son of cabinet minister Sikander Singh Maluka.

The meeting was attended by the entire senior SAD leadership including MPs Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Ranjit Singh Brahampura and Balwinder Singh Bhundur, Cabinet Ministers Ajit Singh Kohar, Tota Singh, senior leaders and district presidents.