Chandigarh, January 3
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and the party’s Punjab affairs co-in-charge Raghav Chadha accused the previous Akali-BJP and current Congress government of plunging Punjab in debt. He said, “The Congress and Badal governments have made Punjab a debtor of Rs. 3 lakh crores in the last 50 years. With the population of 3 crore, today every individual in Punjab has a debt of 1 lac. Every child who is born in Punjab already has a debt of 1 lac rupees on them right after their birth.”
Chadha said, “It is very surprising that 20% of the annual budget of Punjab is being spent only to pay the interest of the loan. If the state government did not have so much debt, then this money would have been used for good hospitals, schools, roads, over bridges and other facilities for the people. But the public’s tax money is being spent in repaying the debt of Rs. 3 lakh crores.”
Alleging Akali Congress leaders of corruption, Chadha said, “Every year Punjab’s treasury is getting empty, but the assets of these corrupt leaders are increasing rapidly. MLAs who earlier only had scooters, today they roam in cars like Land Cruisers and Mercedes. With public money, the leaders of these parties have built their own kothis and farmhouses. The leaders who have cars worth two crore, are saying today that the treasury of Punjab is empty. Actually, Punjab’s exchequer has been emptied because of the loot and corruption of these leaders.”
Referring to the golden history of Punjab, Chadha said, “Once upon a time, Punjab used to be the ‘breadbasket’ state of India. The biggest sports industry in the entire country was in Punjab. But the loot and corruption of previous SAD-BJP and the present Congress government have ruined Punjab.” He said that today the businessmen and traders of Punjab are leaving and investing in other states. There is continuous migration of industries from Punjab.
Chadha appealed to the people of Punjab to support the Aam Aadmi Party and said, “It is an opportunity to bring about a change and make Punjab prosperous again. Only a government with a clear intention and vision is needed to improve the condition and system of Punjab.” He added, ‘Ao milkar khushaal Punjab banaye, iss baar Kejriwal ki Sarkar banaye’ (By forming Kejriwal’s government this time, Let us together make Punjab prosperous).
