Badal calls Cong's darbars in Punjab a 'gimmick'

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today took a dig at the "darbars" being organised by Congress across the state, terming it as a gimmick ahead of the Assembly elections next year.
He asked why did Congress leaders shy away from meeting people when their party was in power in Punjab.
"The Congress leaders were most inaccessible when they were in power. These leaders were hardly available to people when they were given the mandate to serve them," Badal alleged.
"Now when elections for the state Assembly are a few months away, these leaders were indulging in political gimmick to woo voters," he added.

"Punjab is the only state where the Chief Minister visits every village to redress grievances of people even during scorching heat or spine chilling cold," Badal said referring to himself while addressing a gathering in Nakodar assembly segment here, according to an official release.
Speaking at a Sangat Darshan programme in Malout Assembly segment recently, Badal had taken a dig at Amarinder Singh saying there is no match between "darbars of Maharajas" and "pro-people Sangat Darshan" of SAD-BJP government.

Amarinder, who belongs to the royal family of the erstwhile state of Patiala, launched of 24-week-long outreach programme on June 19 from Jalalabad, the Assembly constituency of deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

"The Congress Chief Ministers obediently obeyed their high command even when Punjab's water was illegally given to Rajasthan and Haryana. Even state Congress leaders overwhelmingly welcomed the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she performed ground breaking ceremony of SYL canal to deprive the state of its legitimate share of water," Badal said.
Attacking Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he alleged that both Congress and the party are planning to "snatch legitimate share of Punjab's water."
While Congress had signed various water agreements to deprive state of its waters, AAP is now trying its level best to ensure that these agreements were implemented at the earliest, he claimed.

Later, interacting with the mediapersons after inaugurating the strengthening work of Jalandhar-Nakodar bye pass, he refuted the opposition's allegations regarding any sort of misappropriation in the Cash Credit Limit of the state.
He said that all the accounts regarding it were "crystal clear" as the state government merely purchased the foodgrains for the union government and there were no irregularities in this.