Congress root cause of country's problems: Badal

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today blamed the successive Congress governments at the Centre for all the problems including drug addiction, unemployment faced by the country.
"Social maladies like unemployment, drug addiction, illiteracy and others were the result of directionless and wrong policies of the successive Congress governments at the Centre," Badal said here while addressing the gathering during the 'Sangat Darshan' programme today
"Congress party is the root cause of all the troubles faced by the country in present scenario. Due to anti-people policies of the Congress, India is facing major problems on the social and economic front," he alleged.

Badal claimed that Punjabis had made more than 80 per cent sacrifices for emancipating the country from the "yoke of British Imperialism" but the successive Congress government at the Centre never recognised them.
The Chief Minister called for a collective effort to make India a "Congress free" nation by wiping it out from every nook and corner of the country.
Accusing previous Congress led governments at the Centre of meting out step motherly treatment to the state, Badal alleged that due to anti-Punjab stance of the Congress, the peasantry of state was reeling under a whopping debt.

"The hard working and resilient farmers of the state who had made country self reliant in food production were facing a severe agrarian crisis due to wrong policies of the Congress" he alleged.

To a query on the screening of controversial movie 'Messenger of God' starring Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Badal said the state government has banned the screening of the movie because its release could have led to serious law and order problem in the state.
Reiterating the firm commitment of the state government to main peace and amity, he said that the state was duty bound to install the hard peace of the state at every cost.
Punjab Government on January 17 had decided to "stop" the screening of the film "MSG" in Punjab "in view of reports of tensions surrounding its release in some other parts of the country."

To another query, the Chief Minister said that SAD-BJP alliance was everlasting and both the parties were contesting the Delhi Assembly polls jointly.
Badal also said that the 'Sangat Darshan' programme of Dhuri assembly segment must not be construed as a political move because he had planned it much before the resignation of Congress MLA from this segment.
Congress leader Arvind Khanna had resigned as MLA from Dhuri Assembly seat in Punjab on January 18.