Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (File photo) Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Saturday accused the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Punjab government of engaging in large-scale corruption.
Addressing a press conference here, Rathore, who was accompanied by Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh and Punjab BJP general secretary Subash Sharma, said, “Everything comes with a price tag under this government… You pay for it and you get it”.
Rathore alleged that Punjab has experienced gradual industrial and agricultural decline over the years owing to misgovernance. “The state right now is ruled by the drug mafia and the sand mafia,” he said.
The BJP MP said that Punjab has lost its former glory, which was reflected in the achievements of stalwarts like Dara Singh, Milkha Singh and Abhinav Bindra, among others.
Appealing to people to vote judiciously in the forthcoming polls, he said: “You have the record of everyone with you and you must make the right choice.” He added that this election will have a long-term impact on the state.
Referring to the work of the Union government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rathore said that if voted to power, a BJP-led government in Punjab will put the state on the same path of progress.
The senior BJP leader said that not only is the present state government corrupt but it is also a complete failure. The state has suffered owing to the discord between Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, he added.
The prime minister has a special fondness for Punjab and Punjabis, Rathore said, adding that Modi ensured punishment for those responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
He said it was the PM who announced that December 26 will be observed as ‘Baal Veer Diwas’ in memory of Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh.
Asserting that Punjab needs an honest and efficient government, he said, the state faces multiple challenges, such as debt of nearly Rs three lakh crore.
Rathore said that for the first-time, Punjab was seeing a multi-cornered contest.
Taking a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for claiming to make Punjab free of drugs, he said that the AAP government has opened liquor vends outside every school in the national capital.
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