Badal flays Kejriwal for saying AAP would appoint Dalit dy-CM

Taking a dig at Arvind Kejriwal for announcing his party would appoint a Dalit Deputy-CM if voted to power, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked how the AAP leader can transform the destiny of Dalits when he himself is "not sincere toward them".
"How can merely a post of Deputy Chief Minister help transform the destiny of under-privileged sections of the society, when you (Kejriwal) are not sincere toward them from the core of your heart," he said here.
"Kejriwal's announcement is an attempt to woo Dalits in the state before the next year Assembly polls," the Chief Minister told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

Reacting sharply to the "irresponsible utterances" of the MLAs who defected to the Congress from the SAD-BJP alliance, he said, "Such turncoats followed a pro-party line when they were part of the alliance. The moment they left they started criticising us because their sole motive is to secure a ticket from any party to pursue their vested interests."
Meanwhile, Badal laid the foundation stone for the Advanced Autism and Research Care Centre, which will be built at a cost of Rs 16 crore, at Sector 79 here.
The Chief Minister asked the health department to ink an MoU with a world class Autism institute to help the centre provide the best of treatment.

"I was extremely pained to know from a doctor in my medical team, whose child suffers from Autism, about the trauma and hardships faced by children suffering from it and of their parents," he said, adding this inspired him to do something to help those affected by the condition.
Badal directed his Advisor and the Principal Secretary for Health to work out modalities for the MoU.
"Punjab is the first to launch the Chief Minister's Cashless Cancer Care Scheme besides upgrading infrastructure at medical colleges in Patiala, Faridkot and Amritsar, and setting up a 100-bed Advanced Cancer Institute at Bathinda," Badal said.