Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday slammed the Congress and its manifesto drafting panel chairman Manpreet Singh Badal for having “double standards”.
“Manpreet’s father (Gurdas Badal) uses official car with red beacon and his family has over 20 gunmen,” the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief said, while questioning the Congress’ poll promise to end gunmen and red-beacon culture and adopt austerity if voted back to power.
Claiming Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh has more than 100 gunmen, Sukhbir also questioned the use of red-beacon cars by the party’s state legislators even after “enacting the drama of having resigned” from the Vidhan Sabha.
“The Congress leaders don’t follow austerity even when out of power. (Rajinder Kaur) Bhattal demands house on the grounds that she is a former chief minister,” Sukhbir said, describing the Congress manifesto released on Monday a “visionless document”.
Sukhbir said former finance minister Manpreet Badal, who has now promised a plethora of freebies, had left the SAD after the party refused to accept his “anti-people” and “anti-farmer” stand against subsidies and free power.
Accusing the Cong of befooling farmers, Sukhbir said the nine-point programme released by Capt had promised loan waiver, but the official manifesto released by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday only stated the party will “vigorously pursue” the matter.
