In Badalonomics,empty treasury,mounting debt are good signs: Jakhar

Ridiculing Sukhbir’s claims of creating a land bank for industry,he said the only land bank being created by Badals was for their helipads.

With MLAs Charanjit Bajwa,Rana Gurmeet Sodhi,Raja Warring and Mohammad Sadique setting mood of debate through couplets,Jakhar added one of his own. “Nacha mein Ludhiane teh chanak Jalandhar pendi”,he said to claim that the mock sessions of the Congress were sending jitters inside the Assembly.

He then trained his guns on VAT concessions in the budget. “Offering to abolish VAT on lemon-squeezers,chakla-belan and hairpins is their idea of women empowerment? It shows either they are playing a dirty joke or their is a complete bankruptcy of ideas. They are trying to fool people by making poll promises they have no intention to fulfil and offering concessions on such items,” Jakhar added.

He then cited articles written in newspapers by Sukhbir’s cousin Manpreet Badal to describe the budget as a sophistry of figures using the same excuses of debt of militancy days and tax sops to neighbouring states. He questioned the government’s silence on not allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi brand retail. “FDI would have helped farmers,traders and Punjab’s economy. But they said no to it. Why is their budget silent on their stand. They cannot afford to foot the Rs 5,700 crore power subsidy bill,which is only leading to mindless exploitation of already fast depleting groundwater table for growing paddy. But they are doing so to create a rural-urban divide,” he added.

He said Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa had described the debt as unsustainable in his last budget. “How has it become sustainable now after crossing Rs 1 lakh crore mark? We would meet the Punjab Governor to seek resignation of Dhindsa for such criminal breach of laws,” Jakhar said,moving a motion rejecting the budget as false.