SUJANPUR: SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday said AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal has no right to ask for votes in Punjab as he did not visit the state for a major period of the past five years.
Asserting that Kejriwal was trying to “deceive Punjabis yet again”, Badal said, “You have already suffered by trusting the false oaths taken by former chief minister Amarinder Singh. Now, a party of outsiders is trying to sway you by asking you to give it one chance.”
“I ask AAP why Punjabis should trust AAP. Its convener came to Punjab five years back and his party even won 20 seats to emerge as the principal opposition party in the state. However, instead of raising the voice of people, 11 of its 20 legislators joined the Congress,” he said.
Badal said Kejriwal “ditched” Punjabis like Amarinder Singh, according to a party statement.
“The AAP leader did not even come to Punjab more than once a year before the start of the election process. He did not care to send any medicines to Punjab as chief minister of Delhi. He did not even visit the state during the Covid pandemic. How can you trust him to stand by you in case you give him a chance and elect AAP to power,” Badal asked.
Urging Punjabis to reject outsiders, the SAD president said the SAD-BSP alliance alone represented the regional aspirations of people.
He said Punjabis across the country and even the world looked up to the SAD to resolve their grievances.
“We have successfully resolved problems being faced by Punjabis across the world,” he said.
Badal said erstwhile SAD-led governments had a time-tested track record.
“We made Punjab power surplus. We are also responsible for bringing in world-class road and air connectivity to Punjab. We introduced unique initiatives like free power to farmers which is not being offered to farmers anywhere else in the country,” he said.
“We also brought in social welfare schemes like old-age pension, ‘atta-daal’ and Shagun Schemes, which have helped weaker sections of society to stand up on their feet,” he said.
