Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann today evening hit back at his political opponents, particularly Akalis, over the pasting of posters against him at village gurdwaras, questioning why no such campaign was mounted when SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal himself appeared before Akal Takht Sahib and publicly conceded his wrongs and failures during the Akali government’s tenure.
“They have given a call to boycott me and keep people at a distance from me by accusing me of committing religious wrongs, but the massive public turnout at every Lok Milni tells its own story about who the real culprit is," Mann declared, addressing a large gathering at Bhaloor village under Baghapurana sub-division in Moga district today evening, “I have left the decision of my fate to you, the people of Punjab, and not to those issuing orders under political directions."
In a sharp retort to Akali critics, Mann accused SAD (Badal) leaders of being directly responsible for sacrilege incidents, asserting that their party has paid a heavy price for these sins.
“The Akalis are struggling to find candidates to field in elections," he said. He trained similar fire on the Congress, alleging it too had committed grave wrongs — an apparent reference to the events of 1984 — and was now attempting to reinvent itself as a champion of Punjabi interests even as it remained in complete disarray across the country.
The Chief Minister also charged some Akali leaders with facilitating drug smuggling under police protection, a serious allegation that drew a strong response from the audience. He accused the Akalis of rank opportunism, recalling how they had initially supported the contentious farm legislation before pivoting to project themselves as champions of farmers only when agrarian anger began to swell.
Demonstrating his connect with rural Punjab, Mann drank water on stage in the traditional Punjabi style — cupping both hands to form an oak — and challenged his critics to ask Sukhbir Badal whether he even knew what “oak naal paani peena" meant, underlining his contention that Akali and Congress leaders remain fundamentally out of touch with the common people.
On the agrarian front, Mann announced that 14,000 kilometres of pipeline had already been laid across the state to irrigate fields, with an additional 7,000 kilometres to follow. He alleged that most Congress and Akali leaders enjoy special private water connections from canals to irrigate their own fields and have therefore never understood the irrigation hardships faced by ordinary farmers, adding that the Akalis paid no attention to such infrastructure because they were simply unaware of the farmers’ pain.
Addressing concerns over the power situation, the CM asserted that there was no electricity shortage in the state, claiming a buffer stock of coal was in place to ensure uninterrupted supply.
Ahead of the forthcoming assembly elections, Mann made a pointed appeal to voters not to be swayed by liquor or inducements at the time of voting. “If they offer you money, accept it — because it is your own money that the Akalis and Congress have plundered from you over the decades," he said, to loud cheers from the gathering.
