Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday said the Congress government was defrauding Punjabis by claiming it had reduced power rates when it had actually increased power tariff for industrial and hospital sector.
The SAD chief was here to attend a function to mark the birth anniversary of Sri Arut ji Maharaj, the founder of the Arora Samaj, along with senior leaders Rajinder Deepa and Dr Mohinder Kumar Rinwa. Asserting that the Arora community had played a big role in strengthening the economy and producing stalwarts like Hargobind Khurana, Kalpana Chawla, Lt Gen J S Aurora and Amrita Pritam, Sukhbir announced that once the SAD formed the government in the state, it would construct a befitting memorial in the name of Sri Arut Maharaj.
Sukhbir said the government had reduced power tariff for consumers who had 2kw connections and consumed less than 200 units. “This category should be supplied power free of cost as was done earlier during the erstwhile SAD-led government,” he said. “It is shocking that instead of giving relief to the common man as well as trade and industry by waiving power bills for a six-month period, the state government is resorting to cheap gimmicks by projecting a relief where none has been actually given”.
The SAD chief also allghed that a ‘goonda raj’ had been prevailing in Abohar by Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar and consoled a family which approached him to state that Jakhar was protecting people in his native village against whom a murder charge had been registered.
