With just less than a week left for the Gurdaspur bypoll, both the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaving no stone unturned to grab the public attention. Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar on Saturday accused the Badals for running the government as a personal fiefdom during their decade-long rule.

At a meeting with Anaj Mandi Aartiya Association in Batala, the Punjab Congress chief alleged the Badal’s were never interested in the welfare of the state in past ten years. “They were only keen to make money out of their transport service, not caring about the losses incurred by Punjab roadways in the process,” he alleged.

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Jakhar said the Badal government had siphoned away Rs 3,200 Crore of the state’s money to the Centre government to cover up their own frauds. “The cash-crunched state government was now giving interest on the loan taken against this amount, and would eventually have to pay a whopping Rs 7,000 Crore to the Central government,” he alleged.

Pointing out that the Modi government at the Centre was also following anti-farmer and anti-poor policies, Jakhar quipped that in a country where rulers become businessmen, the common people end up as beggars. Dubbing the Modi government as a government of industrialists and business houses, the Congress chief claimed despite the declining global fuel prices, the cost of petrol and diesel in India was shooting through the roof because of the Centre’s anti-people philosophy.

On the other hand, BJP’s national general secretary, Ramlal said the achievements of NDA government. “We will have to ensure that we perform better in booths where we lagged behind during the previous elections and even better where we did well,” he said.

Similarly, Punjab BJP president Vijay Samlpa said that the victory of SAD-BJP candidate becomes conclusive day by day and the Congress is perturbed by it. “Consequently, they (opposition leaders) are not only using pressure tactics against SAD-BJP workers, but are also trying to lure them,” he said.

Sampla alleged that they desist from becoming Congress agents.