SAD plans programme against UPA

Chandigarh, September 6, 2012: The Shiromani Akali Dal today lashed out at the UPA government's reported move for a fresh hike in the prices of petro, diesel, LPG and other petroleum products.

A resolution passed at a meeting of the Core Committee the party last evening said that the move would spiral off a fresh bout of inflation which will break the back of the already beleaguered common man, especially the poor. "Nothing affects the overall prices so badly as a hike in the prices of petrol , diesel and LPG. Everything, from agriculture to transport to industry, is directly  affected by such  a hike. The Union Government must desist from an outrage of such  brutal insensitivity, " said the Core Committee which met under the chairmanship of the party president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Giving details of the meeting,  Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's  'Advisor on National Affairs and Media', Harcharan Bains said that it has been decided to launch  the membership drive of  he party  shortly. A committee comprising senior leaders of the party would be chalk out the schedule and oversee preparations  for this  . He said that 

Bains said that the party would also take the issue of frequent irrational and totally unjustified   price hikes by the UPA government to the people  through district level meetings soon. Political conferences by the party have also been planned .

Speaking at the meeting, party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said that the UPA government in Delhi was working on a heinous and cynical plot against the state governments, especially in non-Congress ruled states, through a series of policies that made release of central funds subject to the levying of taxes against the wishes of the concerned state governments.  He  gave full details on what he described as " UPA government's well-laid out and deep rooted conspiracy to force state governments  into a bout of unpopular taxes. Under this conspiracy, the center was deliberately with-holding the sanction and release of funds for even the most critical development and social welfare areas such primary healthcare, education, supply of clean drinking water and sewerage, free education to girls, and the poor and dalit students and even subsidised food for the poor.Even our own  due share from central taxes and other funds was being denied on one pretext or the other. The mount of funds with-hled or delayed or refused would run into thousands of crores, said  Mr. Badal, adding that the center was using  the false pretext of " fiscal prudence" to push its economic dictatorship against states. This he said would not be tolerated. 

Badal apprised the members of his meetings with the non-Congress national leaders, all of whom were of the view the states must be given more financial powers to promote development activity at grass root level. He said that there was a near unanimity among non-Congress parties against the erosion of the powers and authority of states through systematic subversion of the Constitution by the UPA. 

Badal said that  this unilateral and arbitrary linkage of   taxes in states  with the release of all grants to them was not only an act of political opportunism of a shocking magnitude but was also constitutionally untenable. "We are looking at all options to thwart these conspiracies, but the simplest way of course is to throw this arrogant UPA government out democratically. Mr. Sukhbir Singh directed SAD's  media and publicity wing  to bring  the entire details before the people through the press in the lead up to the Lok Sabha poll.

According to the Chief Minister's Advisor Bains, the SAD has decided to expose these devious conspiracies of the UPA government at the center. The party cadre and the leadership, armed with the information and details provided by the Deputy Chief Minister, would confront the Congress leaders at all forums , including the media, to expose them before the people. This process , said Mr. Bains, would start right away. 

 To mobilise public opinion and educate the party cadre on this conspiracy and other misdeeds of the UPA government, the party has decided  to start  district level meetings of workers, leaders and office bearers  from next month. The party  also decided to gear up its cadres for important political conferences in the coming months. Some important milestones would in the coming weeks would be  the conferences at guru ki Dhaab and Khadoor Sahib, (September 18) and at Chhappaar ( September 30) Other dates would and programmes would be announced soon.