Patiala, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday accused the Aam Aadmi Party government of betraying Punjab’s youth through repeated examination paper leaks and promised job reservations for locals if voted to power.
Badal was addressing a protest organised here by the Students’ Organisation of India, the student wing of SAD, against the alleged examination paper leaks.
Citing the United States and China as examples, he said countries that invest in and protect their youth emerge as global leaders.
He alleged that Punjab’s youth were being neglected and forced to take to the streets in protest, and claimed that the state government had shown complete indifference towards education and employment.
Badal said students spend substantial amounts on coaching and preparation only to see recruitment examinations marred by paper leaks, and alleged that around 10 examination papers had leaked during the A-led government and criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for remaining silent on the issue.
During the protest, Badal made a series of poll promises.
He said that if the Akali Dal forms the next government in the state, it would enact a law mandating that 100 per cent of government jobs be reserved for Punjabis.
He also announced that 70 per cent of jobs in private industries would be reserved for Punjab’s youth.
Badal further promised that if SAD government comes to power, it would establish medical and veterinary colleges in every district of the state and introduce large-scale vocational education programmes aimed at making young people self-reliant.
Stepping up his attack on the ruling dispensation, the SAD chief alleged that their claims of having ushered in an “education revolution” were misleading and that law and order in the state had also deteriorated.
“They claimed to have brought a ‘Sikhya Kranti’ in Punjab, but in reality it’s all a big failure,” he alleged.
He claimed that A leaders themselves admitted in the Vidhan Sabha that 1,200 of the state’s 1,945 senior secondary schools did not have principals and that 3,200 of the 5,600 sanctioned posts in government colleges were lying vacant.
“Everyone comes to Punjab to rule. These are all ‘Dilliwali’ parties. Today, Punjab’s CM is not Bhagwant Mann, it is Arvind Kejriwal.
“Today we are here to expose Kejriwal. He went to Delhi and did drama for students but when asked about 10-plus paper leaks in Punjab, he denied any wrongdoing. I have an entire list of A exam scams. A is so shameless that they have ignored the fact that they have ruined the lives of over 10 lakh Punjabi youth,” he alleged.
The opposition has been targeting the A government over the alleged multiple examination paper leaks following the detection of a recent cheating racket in the pharmacy officer recruitment examination.
Punjab CM Mann, however, has maintained that not a single incident of paper leak has taken place in the state during the more than four years of his government.
Highlighting Punjab’s development record, Badal said the state had witnessed around 22 years of Akali Dal rule and claimed that official indicators showed the maximum development had taken place during the party-led governments’ tenure.
He urged the youth to distinguish between parties committed to Punjab’s interests and those, according to him, influenced by leadership outside the state.
Describing the 105-year-old Shiromani Akali Dal as a party dedicated to Punjab’s interests, he appealed to the youth to support it.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
