Doles ahead of 2027 polls | State govt jobs only for Punjabis, Rs 10 lakh interest-free loan for youths: Badal

Commenting on CM Bhagwant Mann's alleged “sacrilege video”, Sukhbir Singh Badal said Mann had “committed a heinous sacrilege against the Guru Sahiban and appealed to the “Maha Purakhs” to take notice of it."

SAD president Sukhbir Badal promised interest-free loans, jobs only for Punjabis, stopping water flow to Rajasthan, and reopening Sewa Kendras. (Source: Express Archives)

By: Express News Service

4 min readLudhianaJan 16, 2026 11:19 AM IST First published on: Jan 15, 2026 at 08:39 PM IST

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal Thursday said that if Akali Dal forms government in 2027, the youths will get Rs 10 lakh interest free loan and all farmers without tubewell connections will get it.

Addressing the party’s annual conference in Takhtupura, Moga, Thursday, Badal said, “My government will stop Punjab’s water from flowing into Rajasthan, and state government jobs will be open only for Punjabis, unlike the ruling AAP that gives jobs to outsiders.”

The SAD, once an indomitable force in Punjab’s political landscape but now fighting an identity and survival crisis, has already started announcing doles and freebies to woo voters.

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‘We don’t need to give guarantees’

Badal added, “We don’t need to give guarantees like the Congress and AAP who never fulfilled them as Punjabis trust our word. We have always implemented what we say like giving free power to farmers and introducing novel social welfare schemes like old age pension, aata-daal, Shagun and SC Scholarship”.

Sukhbir Singh Badal at a public event on Thursday (FB@SukhbirSinghBadal).

Announcing that the SAD would further expand it’s pro-farmer and pro-poor policies, Badal said that free tubewell connections would be given to all left out farmers. He said since Punjab waters were flowing into the Rajasthan canal unlawfully and Punjab alone has claim over it under the Riparian principle, the SAD government would stop this flow and divert these waters to the fields of Punjab farmers. He said that pipes would be installed to ensure that canal water reaches the tail ends.

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Adding that government jobs in the state would be open to Punjabis alone, he said that any industry seeking government subsidies would also have to employ 75 per cent Punjabis on its rolls. He added that like Road Tax reprieve given to tractors by former CM late Parkash Singh Badal, motorbikes would also be exempted from this tax.

“Sewa Kendras will be reopened and a commission would be established to probe all fake cases registered by the AAP government. Those responsible for implicating innocents in the false cases will be proceeded against as per law,” he said.

’16 new medical colleges in Punjab’

Badal also announced the establishment of 16 medical colleges in each district of the State and reservation of 50 per cent of all seats for poor and deserving students who would be provided education in the medical as well as veterinary colleges free of cost. “AAP promised this but did nothing. We will make this a reality,” he said. He announced establishment of a Skill university with a capacity of training 50,000 youth in which “corporates would be brought on board to impart training as per their needs so that the youth could be appropriately absorbed in the industry”.

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Commenting on CM Bhagwant Mann’s alleged “sacrilege video”, Badal said Mann had “committed a heinous sacrilege against the Guru Sahiban and appealed to the “Maha Purakhs” to take notice of it.”

“I have seen the video. It is shocking what is being done by a person sitting on the CM’s chair. The Maha Purakhs in our society should take note. Those like Baljit Singh Daduwal and Dhian Singh Mand who defamed the SAD on this sensitive issue should also explain why they are silent now,” said Badal.

He said that the sacrilege incidents started occurring in Punjab in 2015 after the entry of AAP into the state in 2014. “These were started to divide the Sikh community and defame the SAD”, he added.

“The AAP government is even trying to frame me in a false case but I will never be cowed down by such tactics. The Guru Sahiban have taught us to fight against tyranny and I will continue to speak fearlessly against the anti- people and anti- Punjabi policies of this corrupt government,” he said.

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