Amritsar, February 18: Sukhbir Singh Badal, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), pledged on Wednesday to prevent Punjab’s water from flowing to Rajasthan. He stated that the next SAD government will redirect water from Rajasthan’s auxiliary canal for irrigation in Punjab’s fields.
Speaking at a rally in the grain market of Amarkot as part of the “Save Punjab, Bring Sukhbir Singh Badal” campaign, he emphasized the need to end the discrimination faced by the state from the Congress party, which has diverted half of the river’s water to Rajasthan.
Badal made it clear that the SAD will not allow Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to compromise the state’s interests. He highlighted that the central government has a file related to Mann’s purchase of 2,500 acres of land in Australia, which has led to water being supplied to Haryana through the SYL canal. This situation, he noted, has caused Mann to soften his stance and publicly express a willingness to discuss ways to allocate Punjab’s water to Haryana.
He announced that if the SAD comes to power in 2027, they will eradicate the culture of gangsters and the drug mafia permanently. He stated that they would change laws to deny bail to such elements for ten years and auction their properties.
Badal passionately appealed to Punjabis to stop experimenting with new political parties in every election. He asserted that to save Punjab, the SAD must return to power. He assured the public that, like his father, S. Parkash Singh Badal, he would lead Punjab towards rapid progress. He criticized the Aam Aadmi Party for hollowing out the state, claiming that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has become nominal, with the entire Chief Minister’s office under the control of Arvind Kejriwal’s personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar. He also mentioned how industrialist Rajinder Gupta had to pay ₹75 crores for a Rajya Sabha nomination and Ashok Mittal, the owner of Lovely University, paid ₹50 crores for the same.
Badal announced several commitments aimed at including all sections of society in Punjab. Regarding farmers, he promised that within a week of forming the next SAD government, all farmers without tube well connections would receive them. He also pledged to construct permanent embankments on rivers to manage floods, assure land rights to those previously denied, and ensure free division of joint ownership of land.
Addressing the reduction and denial of social welfare benefits previously provided to the underprivileged by Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, Badal committed to enhancing all social welfare schemes initiated by S. Parkash Singh Badal and introducing new ones for vulnerable groups. He announced the revival of the Atta-Dal scheme, providing flour at ₹4 per kilo and lentils at ₹20 per kilo. Additionally, he promised ₹1 lakh in marriage assistance for the poor and an increase in old-age pensions to ₹3,100 per month. He also declared that all lands under the ‘Lal Dora’ in villages would be registered in the names of their owners, all temporary houses would be modernized, and all rural roads would be concreted.
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