Pratap Singh Bajwa
Barnala (Punjab): Punjab Congress unit president Pratap Singh Bajwa attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state. He alleged that he has “failed” on all fronts. All sectors of society “feel cheated.” Bajwa, leader of the opposition in the Assembly, also told reporters that farmers were facing difficulties in the mandis due to “slowness” in procurement and lifting of rice by the state government.
Unfulfilled electoral promise
Ahead of the assembly by-elections, Bajwa had arrived in Barnala to campaign for Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhillon. He was also accompanied by MP Amar Singh and former minister Balbir Singh Sidhu. Bajwa said that in the last two and a half years, the Aam Aadmi Party has not fulfilled any of its election promises. He said: “Tell us any promises made to farmers, employees and women that you have kept.”
Every section feels cheated.
The state Congress president said the Bhagwant Mann government failed to fulfill the promise of Rs 1,000 per month to women. He said Mann later claimed that he would give Rs 1,100 a month to each woman. He alleged: “Until now not even a penny has been given to the women. Every section feels cheated. “He has failed in every situation.” On the issue of rice procurement, Bajwa said farmers are being “looted” in the mandis and are being forced to take a cut of Rs 300 per quintal.
Appeal to vote in favor of Kuldeep Singh Dhillon
“Chief Minister Mann did not bother to visit any grain market in the state to assess the situation,” he said, adding that meeting the Prime Minister and the Union Food Minister and raising the issue of “slowness” in rice lifting is the responsibility of the Chief Minister. He also said that farmers are still facing shortage of DAP fertilizer for wheat sowing. Bajwa appealed to people to vote for Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhillon in the November 20 by-elections. Countering BJP candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon’s claim, Bajwa said the Congress government declared Barnala as a district in 2006 and it was not due to the efforts of any individual. Earlier this week, Kewal Singh Dhillon took credit for the formation of Barnala district in 2006. Apart from Congress and BJP candidates, AAP’s Harinder Singh Dhaliwala, Akali Dal’s Govind Singh Mann (Amritsar) and rebel and independent AAP candidate Gurdeep Singh Bath are in the fray in the Barnala by-election.
