Accusing the Punjab government of burdening the common man with economic burdens on one pretext or the other, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday demanded ouster of the state finance minister, Manpreet Badal.
In a Press statement, former finance minister and SAD leader Upinderjit Kaur said Badal has no business to fool the people of the state.
She said Badal is programmed to be “anti poor”. “Even when in SAD as a finance minister, he always tried to scuttle social welfare schemes and pro poor policies. He was the biggest advocate to do away with subsidies,” Kaur said.
Lashing out at Badal, senior SAD leader alleged that it was unfortunate that the festive season is around the corner and the state employees are not being paid their salaries.
“A salaried class man is trying to make out a living and by hiking the power bills, doing away with various social welfare schemes and playing a cruel joke on our government schools specially Adarash schools Manpreet has shown his true elitist mindset which has no place to accommodate the poor and downtrodden,” Kaur said.
Stopping or delaying an employees salary the state government is indulging in gross insensitivity around Dussherra and Diwali, she added.
Questioning Badal’s economics, Kaur requested the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh that he needs to pull up his finance minister or give him the marching orders.
Lamenting that the easiest way is to blame the previous regimes that the state exchequer is empty, the SAD leader said it’s not the state exchequer which is empty it’s the finance minister who has no inclination to run his department efficiently and effectively.