Sukhbir  Badal announces Rs 2,000 per month grant to women heads of blue card holder families once SAD-BSP alliance is voted to power.

(Releases a 13 point charter of initiatives including Rs 10 per liter reduction in diesel prices for agriculture consumers, power @Rs five per unit for industry and interest free loan of Rs ten lakh for students)

(Says Jo keha oh keeta, jo kehange oh karange. Announces free power of 400 units per month to all households, health insurance cover of Rs ten lakh and msp for fruits and vegetables)

 Chandigarh, August 3 – Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today announced a thirteen point charter of initiatives which the SAD-BSP alliance will implement once it comes to power in the State in 2022 including a grant of Rs 2,000 per month to all women heads of blue card holder families besides a Rs 10 per liter reduction in price of diesel for agriculture consumers, provision of power @ Rs five per unit for industry and an interest free loan of Rs ten lakh for students.

The slew of initiatives, which cover all sections of society, also include providing free power up to four hundred units per month to all households and doing away with outstanding residential bills of all blue card holders. All connections of BPL families, which have been disconnected due to nonpayment of bills, will be restored.

Addressing a press conference here, the SAD President also announced a health insurance cover of Rs ten lakh per annum which will cover treatment, medicines, diagnostic tests, surgeries and medical equipment in all public and private hospitals.

Simultaneously in a big announcement for youth to help them go in for higher studies in India and abroad, Mr Sukhbir Badal announced that a Student Education Card with interest free loan upto Rs 10 lakh would be issued to the students for the purpose of college fees and coaching fees like IELTs. He announced that for scheduled caste students this facility would be in addition to the SC scholarship which would be restarted.

Speaking about the initiatives which would be taken up in the agriculture sector, Mr Badal said legislation would be passed in the State assembly to ensure the three agriculture laws were not implemented in Punjab. He said simultaneously the government would introduce minimum support price (MSP) for fruits and vegetables and pay the differential in case of reduction in prices to farmers.

Stating that the next SAD-BSP government would prioritize health and education, Mr Badal said 500 bed Government Medical Colleges with super specialty facilities would be established in every district. He also announced that 33 per cent reservation would be given to students passing their education from government schools in all professional colleges in the State, including medical colleges.

The SAD President also announced that one lakh new jobs would be created in the government sector and that ten lakh new jobs would be created in the private sector. He also announced a minimum of 50 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs. He said 75 per cent jobs would be reserved for Punjabi youth in the private sector.

He also announced that all contractual employees including safai karamcharis would be regularized besides announcing complete digitization of all government services available to citizens and making Sewa Kendras which have been closed down by the Congress government functional again.

He also announced that large companies would be encouraged to switch to solar energy by waiving off transmission charges in the State besides asserting that new textile and IT hubs would be created in the State.

Stating that the SAD had always delivered on the promises made to the people, Mr Badal said the SAD had earlier promised free power to farmers and delivered on it. “We promised unique schemes for the socially disadvantaged including ‘aata – daal’ scheme and ‘shagun scheme’ and made them a reality. We promised to make the State power surplus and did so. Similarly we promised to provide world class infrastructure to the people and delivered on it be it four to six lane highways or international airports. Jo keha oh keeta, jo kehange oh karange”, he quipped. He also detailed how the SAD led governments of S Parkash Singh Badal had always stood for peace, communal harmony, brotherhood and respect for all religions.

Speaking about chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, the SAD President said the former had sworn false oaths on the holy Gutka Sahib and reneged on them. He said as far as AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal was concerned, the latter had always adopted double standards on all issues concerning Punjab and Punjabis. “Kejriwal betrayed the interests of Punjab on the SYL issue and stubble burning and recently even tried to force closure of the thermal plants in the State”. He said even the 300 units free power promised by Kejriwal had proved to be a hoax with the AAP leader claiming that anyone consuming even one unit more than 300 units would have to pay the entire bill.