No Reason for Punjabis to Believe in Congress Manifesto: Sukhbir Badal

Jalalabad (Punjab): Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday said there was no reason for Punjabis to believe anything in the Congress' manifesto for the Punjab Assembly polls as the party had "never honoured any of its previous commitments".

Addressing public gatherings here, he said, "The Congress has come to represent a party of thugs who get together only before elections to befool and loot Punjabis. Whatever has been announced today will be consigned to the dust bin

tomorrow."

The Deputy Chief Minister reminded the people that the Congress, and particularly its Punjab unit chief Amarinder Singh, had "never kept their word earlier and nor were they expected to keep it now".

He claimed that Amarinder had promised to retain the free power facility for farmers in his 2002 poll manifesto, but discontinued it immediately after coming to power in Punjab.

Similarly, all other social welfare schemes were also stopped by the state Congress chief, Sukhbir alleged.

"He (Amarinder) is promising to provide lakhs of jobs to the youth, but it was him who had banned recruitment upon becoming chief minister," he added.

The SAD chief also took on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate and MP Bhagwant Mann and castigated him for his "cheap and vulgar" comments aimed at "spoiling the atmosphere in the constituency".

He urged the people to judge for themselves as to how a "joker" could provide irrigation water or roads and streets to them.

"He (Mann) is a comedian who works for money. Earlier, during my Parliamentary polls campaign in Faridkot, he had taken Rs 4 lakh from me to sing my praise before I reached the venue," Sukhbir claimed, adding that such "comedians" would

"lose their security deposit" in Jalalabad.

AAP has fielded Mann against Sukhbir from Jalalabad for the upcoming Punjab polls while the Congress is yet to declare its candidate from the seat.