Badal terms shoe hurling incident as political conspiracy

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today termed the last week's shoe hurling incident as a deep-rooted political conspiracy, saying the political parties must refrain from stooping too low for countering their political rivals.
Speaking to reporters here after paying tribute to Sant Harchand Singh Longowal in a function to mark his 29th martyrdom day today, the Chief Minister blamed the Aam Aadmi Party for the act.
"It is unfortunate that the Aam Aadmi Party leadership had conceived this act just to counter the growing popularity of Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government in the state," Badal alleged.
He said the incident was a part of the "bigger conspiracy" and added the law would take its own course against the perpetrators of this crime.

The main accused, Bikram, an AAP activist, had allegedly hurled the shoe towards Badal at a function in Issru town on August 15, but the footwear had not hit the Chief Minister. The accused was later put under arrest.
Earlier addressing a gathering, the Chief Minister vowed to make Punjab a leading state of the country with the proactive help of the NDA government at the Centre.

"The visionary, dynamic and progressive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help the state government in heralding a new era of unprecedented development in Punjab," he said.
Lashing out at the Congress party, the Chief Minister, while squarely blaming it for meting out step motherly treatment to the state, said the industry and agriculture of Punjab was ruined due to "regressive policies of the Congress party during its six-decade long rule in the country".

He said that the Congress had never given any big ticket industrial project to the state during their rule and had rather "thwarted the attempt of industrialisation in the state by giving incentives to the neighbouring states".
"The Punjabis could never forgive the Congress party as it has irrelevantly meddled in their social, political, economic and even the religious affairs," Badal claimed.
Earlier paying rich tributes to Sant Longowal, the Chief Minister said the real homage to this great son of soil would be to uphold the hard earned peace, amity, brotherhood and communal harmony in the state.
He said though some forces which were inimical to the progress and development of the state were trying to fan the feelings of hatred and divisiveness in the state "but the state government was committed to foil any such attempt by keeping a strict vigil over the entire situation".