Sidhu picks up pace: Are Badals here to run govt or their businesses?

Comparing the excise collection in Punjab with that of Tamil Nadu, Sidhu said Tamil Nadu generates Rs 26,188 crore excise from 6,323 liquor vends against the Rs 5,610 crore in Punjab that has 12,500 liquor vends. Also, in Tamil Nadu, around 30,000 employees are there in the excise department against the 1,000 in Punjab.

He said, “If calculated over a span of 10 years, it is a scam of Rs 1,00,000 crore done just to benefit the Badals, who are monopolising the liquor business. Punjab’s loan could be repaid with this money.”

Sidhu said tourism policy in the state is such that several government properties were lying unused. Claiming that hotels and resorts have been sold by the Badals to their close associates at throwaway prices after terming them as non-profitable, he said those included resorts in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Wagah, Ropar and Faridkot, including Water Lilly, Neem Chameli, Amritsar Hotel.

Placing the box to one side, he opened it and appeared to look at it reverentially before starting off. The Indian Express photographer Jaipal Singh aimed closer to discover it was a portable puja box with two tiny idols — a Shivling with a Nag, and a Nandi — along with some flowers.

“They themselves have constructed sukh villas on people’s dukh (sorrows) of Punjab’s residents. Land purchased by the Punjab government in Goa and Manali for tourism resorts is lying barren,” he said.

Sidhu also attacked the Badals, alleging that before coming to power, they had 50 buses and two transport companies. “Now, they own a fleet of 650 buses and eight transport companies. Punjab Roadways, meanwhile, has been facing losses to the tune of Rs 350-400 crore.”

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Sidhu said several companies were taken over by the Badals by threatening the owners. The schedule of Punjab Roadways buses is prepared in such a manner that the Badals’ companies are benefited, he said. “Are the Badals here to run a government or their businesses? It is a direct conflict of interest with the state’s exchequer,” he said.

Sidhu also said that in Bathinda, 36.81-acre land was bought for a dump at a cost of Rs 1.60 crore. Within a month, it was sold back to the state at a cost of Rs 5 crore. This has been done at several places. The food and supplies department has pending loans of Rs 36,000 crore. The total loan against Punjab is around Rs 3 lakh crore.

Sukhbir reacts

The deputy CM took to twitter to attack Sidhu. In a series of tweets, he wrote, “Sidhu is a paid employee of Cong. He is always ready to sell himself to the biggest buyer. Tomorrow he may be with someone else.” He further tweeted, “Sidhu is a human bomb which can explode anytime, anywhere. He is indulging in false propaganda to entice people in his typical style.”