Former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Monday said giving a chance to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was akin to signing away the river waters of Punjab and would spell an end to all social welfare schemes started in the state by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

Addressing a gathering at Malerkotla, the Bathinda Member of Parliament while showing the affidavit submitted by AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal in the Supreme Court in his capacity as Delhi chief minister, said “this is proof that AAP is committed to taking away the river waters of Punjab and handing them over to Haryana and Delhi”.

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She said this was not all. “AAP has submitted similar affidavits in the apex court calling for the closure of thermal plants of the State besides registering criminal complaints against Punjab farmers who had burnt their paddy stubble in sheer desperation after not getting any support from the state government,” Harsimrat said.

The SAD leader said Kejriwal was befooling Punjabis with false commitments and dummy leaders like Bhagwant Mann were also acting in a spineless manner by refusing to question Kejriwal about his anti-Punjab agenda.

She said Bhagwant Mann had not questioned Kejriwal even once on why he had taken an anti-Punjab stance on the issue of the river waters of Punjab or the issue of closure of the State’s thermal plants and the AAP demand to levy penalties against Punjab farmers.

“How can we expect Bhagwant Mann to safeguard the interests of the State in future also when he is surviving on the mercy of Kejriwal?” she asked.

The Bathinda MP also accused the ruling Congress of not doing anything for Punjabis for the last five years. She said Congress had reneged on each and every promise made by it when in government be it the issue of complete farm loan waiver, giving jobs to youth or increasing the old age pension to Rs 2,500 per month and shagun scheme benefit to Rs 51,000”.

She also condemned chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi for indulging in a sham of being a poor chief minister. “This claim has been exposed by the recovery of Rs 11 Crore in cash and gold from Channi’s nephew besides benami property papers worth Rs 56 Crore,” Harsimrat said.