Punjab Newspaper

Akali Dal supremo Parkash Singh Badal described the manifesto issued by the Congress party as a “ a poor copy of the policies and programmes followed the SAD-BJP government in Punjab, such as cheaper atta-daal, free quality education, scholarships and promotional incentives for the poor meritorious students. But it is in keeping with the past tradition of Congress adopting the SAD agenda, although minus sincerity and decades too late. They would do well to honestly admit that what SAD says today, the Congress would be saying two decades later. It is an outdated party, completely out of touch with the present and the future.”


Besides, he said, the manifesto was full of double-speak as in the case of the promises made to the poor on the atta-daal scheme which would not benefit even 20% of those who were already covered the Punjab government’s scheme in this regard.
In a statement here, Mr. Badal said that the Congress promise of cheaper atta-daal to those living below the poverty line was a fraud played on the vast majority of the poor in the country. “The norms set for the BPL families leave almost eighty percent of the poor out of the ambit of the promised benefits. In Punjab for example, the central norms classify just about three lakh families as eligible for the atta-daal scheme. But we revised the criterion to make it more realistic, and now the Punjab government is giving wheat at Rs. 4 and daal at Rs. 20 per kg to more than 15 lakh 70,000 families. More than 13 lakh families in Punjab alone would not get any benefit even if the Congress formed a government and honestly implemented its promise on atta-daal. This is pure and unashamed dishonesty and double-speak,” said the Chief Minister.
He said that the manifesto contained no commitment from the Congress on safeguarding the interests of minorities in the country.”
The Shiromani Akali Dal also came down heavily on the Congress manifesto. Party president Sukhbir Singh Badal decried the Congress for once again letting down people in general and the farmers in particular by omitting important policy initiatives like giving more powers to the states through a genuinely federal structure in the country and formulation of a national policy on agriculture. “The manifesto lacks a modern vision and at the same time offers nothing to millions of toiling farmers and farm labourers, as it neither promises a revision of norms for fixing the MSP of agricultural products as per the international prices, nor does it speak about the M.S.Swaminathan formula nor does it promise to classify farm labourers as semi-skilled workers, a demand raised by farm labour and supported by the SAD.
The SAD chief said in a statement that the manifesto was “full of false promises to implement the same policies for which the Congress had been criticizing the Badal government in Punjab. “All these five years, the Congress leadership both in the state and at the Centre had been openly accusing the SAD-BJP government of fiscal mismanagement and of squandering away government exchequer on subsidies like cheaper atta-daal for the poor, free power to farm sector, shagun scheme and free education for dalit girls up to graduation, free quality education to the poor meritorious students through Adarsh School scheme and subsidies given to the farming and industrial sectors. Now suddenly, the Congress has decided to promise a copy of the SAD-BJP’s scheme,” said the Punjab Deputy Chief Minister today