Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday exuded confidence that his party will defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
Badal, while addressing a gathering in Pathankot's Sujanpur, asserted that Punjabis will not let outsiders govern them and will place their trust in the SAD, which represents the regional aspirations.
"Just like Mamata Banerjee was successful in West Bengal, we will also defeat all three forces pitted against us to emerge victorious in 2022," he said.
Targeting the Congress, Badal said its countdown has started. He claimed the infighting within the Congress will lead to its destruction in the coming days.
The Akali leader said the SAD government will never ask Punjabis to fill forms as the Congress did. "We have always stood by all the commitments made in our election manifesto. Be it giving free power to farmers or introducing novel social welfare schemes like the Shagun scheme and the 'atta-dal' scheme, all was done immediately after government formation," he added.
Taking on Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Badal asked him to tell the people of Punjab as to why he allegedly filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking the closure of the state's four thermal plants.
"Kejriwal also stands for handing over the river waters of Punjab to Haryana and Delhi," he alleged.
Badal said even Kejriwal's "drama" of promising to give Rs 1,000 every month to all women in Punjab if his party is voted to power did not cut ice with the people of the state.
"Punjabis are asking why not one woman in Delhi has received Rs 1,000 per month till now," he said.
Similarly, Kejriwal talked about regularising all contractual employees in Punjab but his government has not regularised 10,000 contractual employees in Delhi, the Akali leader said.
(with PTI inputs)
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