Attack on SAD delegation in US not a referendum against state

After a delegation led by Punjab's NRI affairs minister Tota Singh in New York was attacked by a group of protesting Sikhs last week, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Opposition not to misjudge the protest abroad as a 'referendum' against the 'pro-people' policies of the state government.
"It is surprising that in the dearth of any issue against the state government the entire opposition is ecstatic over the protest made by a few individuals abroad and were wrongly projecting it as mandate against the alliance government," Badal said here on the sidelines of his 'Sangat Darshan' programme in the Jandiala Guru assembly segment.

He said that the protest was not in any way a verdict of the Punjabi diaspora against the state government as only a few people were a part of this protest.
The five-time Chief Minister cautioned the opposition that it should not nurture any doubt in their minds as the Punjabis were reposing full faith and confidence in the pro-people and development-oriented policies of the state government.
He said such incidents had rarely taken place in the state where the SAD-BJP alliance government was in power for two consecutive terms and this reflects that people were satisfied with their functioning.

Badal said that the sole reason for it was that the alliance government had taken care of the interests of each and every section of the society during its rule.

"Ridiculing the state for the vested interests by opposition is highly deplorable as it is deliberately trying to paint dismal picture of Punjab for scoring brownie points before media by blowing this issue out of proportion as if the entire Canada or USA has turned against the state government whereas in reality, it is an orchestrated protest lodged by a few politically motivated individuals," Badal said.
Tota Singh and his delegation came under attack in New York as hundreds of Sikhs protesting his visit allegedly threw stones and hurled a shoe at them.

The opposition Congress, had however, latched onto the incident to hit out at the state government saying it was a "manifestation of the anger that NRI Punjabis particularly the Sikhs have against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his government" for their "hollow promises" and "failure on all fronts".