By PTI
LUDHIANA: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal accused Congress leaders on Sunday of misappropriating funds of rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA in Punjab and said if the SAD-BSP is voted to power in the 2022 state Assembly polls, it would order a probe into it.
“Congress leaders misappropriated MGNREGA funds to the tune of thousands of crores by indulging in bogus billing as well as by overcharging for tiles, pavers and other construction work,” Badal said while addressing a gathering here.
He alleged that Congress leaders had opened their own tile and paver factories and were supplying sub-standard material for use in government works.
“All such misdeeds will be probed and corruption cases will be registered against the guilty,” the former Punjab deputy chief minister added.
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Badal said he is also receiving complaints that grain markets in Punjab were closed prematurely when the paddy crop was still not harvested across the state.
“This is being done under pressure from the Centre,” he said, adding that now, the farmers would be forced to sell short.
Badal also highlighted how the government is totally “oblivious” to the spread of dengue in the state.
He said the number of dengue cases has crossed the 20,000 mark in Punjab but nothing is being done to control the spread of the vector-borne disease.
“The government is behaving in the same fashion as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed the lives of more than 17,000 Punjabis,” Badal said.
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Slamming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said its convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is trying to “fool” Punjabis in the same manner as was done by former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh.
“Kejriwal descends on Punjab every fortnight to proclaim a guarantee. It seems that he does not trust anyone in the state unit (of the AAP) to stand by the guarantee and never mind the fact that he has also not been able to fulfil any of the promises made to the people of Delhi,” the SAD leader said.
“I am touring the state and I feel that the public sentiment is in favour of the SAD. People want to teach a lesson to the corrupt and scam-ridden Congress government and they feel that the AAP stands only for disruptive politics. People will vote for the SAD for all-round development,” he added.
Badal campaigned for the SAD-BSP candidate from the Gill constituency, Darshan Singh Shivalik.
The Punjab Assembly polls are scheduled to be held early next year.
