Jakhar blasts Akalis for leaving state coffers 'empty'

Punjab Congress chief and its Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll candidate, Sunil Jakhar today said the Congress-led government would have done much more for people, had the previous SAD-BJP regime left money in the state coffer.
As he campaigned for the October 11 bypoll, Jakhar lashed out at Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal for criticising the Congress government's farm loan waiver scheme.
"Had the Akalis left money in the exchequer, the Congress government would have done much more for the farmers and other sections of the society," Jakhar said.
"Even the BJP (SAD ally) has realised that the Badals and Akalis had left nothing in Punjab (state exchequer)".

He accused the SAD-BJP government of "destroying" the law and order and creating "jungle raj" in the state and ridiculed Sukhbir for holding a rally against the Congress rule over these issues.
"Had Amarinder Singh (of Congress) been the CM these past 10 years, things would have been different for Punjab," Jakhar said, adding a Congress government at the helm would have made Punjab a developed state.

Addressing a series of workers' meets across Gurdaspur, Jakhar said there were wide fissures in the SAD-BJP alliance despite their best efforts to put up a united front.
The absence of Parkash Singh Badal from his son Sukhbir's rally yesterday showed the latter had taken complete control of the party.

After plunging the state into a "turmoil" with its "destructive" policies, the SAD itself was in the doldrums, Jakhar said.
He patted the Amarinder government for having already "transformed" things for the better in the past six months and listed the announcement of farm loan waiver and the abolition of truck unions to break the monopoly of 'Jathedars' as achievements of the current regime.
He also listed the Rs 5 per unit electricity tariff for industries, increase in the Shagun grant and enhancement of old age pension as some of the other major accomplishments.
On how he plans to develop Gurdaspur, Jakhar said he would raise all issues with the CM and in Parliament should he get elected.

Just giving out the Members of Parliament Local Area Development or MP-LAD fund was not enough, the Centre needs to resolve several issues of state's border belt, he said.
The bypoll was necessitated following the death of BJP MP Vinod Khanna in April this year. The poling will take place on October 11.