Dera Baba Nanak: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday made a host of promises, announcing several welfare measures, farmer relief, job creation, and improved governance if voted to power.While addressing a gathering, Badal said if voted to power, they would create a Rs 50,000 crore tourism hub at Thein dam.The tourism hub would provide much-needed employment to the youth of the region besides giving a boost to the area’s economy, he said.The Akali leader also announced that the SAD was committed to give a special package to encourage establishment of industry in the border belt of Punjab. “These incentives will include cheaper power and tax concessions besides creating employment as we will stipulate that all industries will have to keep 75% Punjabis on their rolls,” said Badal.He also said the SAD was committed to creating an IT hub in Amritsar, which would be a boon for the youth of the entire border belt.The senior leader appealed to the people to support the SAD and shun the parties ruled from Delhi who always discriminated against Punjab.“The state was denied right to its own capital, half of its river waters were snatched and given to Rajasthan against the Riparian Principle, and Punjabi-speaking areas were left out while reconstituting it in 1966,” he recalled.Emphasising that the SAD was committed to correcting these “historical injustices”, Badal said once the party forms the govt in 2027 it would stop the flow of water into the Rajasthan canal. “We will construct new canals and take this water to the fields of our farmers.”He also claimed that the AAP govt was about to give women an allowance of Rs 1,000 per month for six months by discontinuing the power subsidy given to the PSPCL for supplying free power to farmers for tubewell operations.The SAD chief also announced that a Rs 10-lakh interest-free loan would be offered to youth besides restarting an expanded Aata Dal scheme and raising old age pension to Rs 3,100 per month and Shagun allowance to Rs 1 lakh.Senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema, Hira Singh Gabria, Gurbachan Singh Babbehali, Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal and Sukhjinder Singh Sonu Langah also addressed the gathering.MSID:: 129720624 413 |
