Amit Shah to address 'badlav' rally in Punjab's Moga on Mar 14

Chandigarh, Feb 26 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address a 'Badlav' rally in Punjab's Moga on March 14, state BJP working president Ashwani Sharma said on Thursday.

Addressing the media here, Sharma said everyone in Punjab sees the BJP as a reliable and credible alternative to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which, he said, the people have decided to throw.

He said the BJP is committed to serving the people of Punjab, taking the state on the path of development, freeing it from the drug menace, bringing change in the lives of farmers and providing a corruption-free regime.

The rally is being seen as the beginning of the BJP's poll campaign in Punjab, where assembly elections are due in early 2027.

Lashing out at the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, Sharma alleged that the Bhagwant Mann dispensation had "failed" on every front.

In its four years of power in Punjab, far from fulfilling electoral guarantees and promises, the AAP government has failed to ensure the rule of law in Punjab, taking "U-turns" on each of its promises, Sharma alleged.

Sharma alleged that drugs, illegal mining and corruption are "rampant" in the state.

"The health and education systems are deteriorating, and employees are not receiving salaries and pensions on time. Due to pending reimbursements, the state power utility and the Punjab Roadways are facing heavy losses and have been unable to pay salaries for months," he claimed.

Culprits in sacrilege cases have not been punished yet, he said.

Sharma also called into question the Mann dispensation's sincerity for failing to get the farmers a minimum support price on their crops.

Traders are distressed by what Sharma described as "tax recovery terror" of the Punjab government.

In four years, the AAP government has neither built new roads in cities, towns, and villages nor even repaired potholes, he claimed.

Sharma alleged that the law and order in the state has "completely collapsed" and cited incidents of extortion and gun violence that recently took place in Punjab.

"Extortion calls are now being made not only to big businessmen but even to small grocery shopkeepers," he said.

The Pathankot MLA alleged that the Punjab Police, which once eradicated terrorism from the state, has been kept so busy by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Mann in "settling political scores" with opponents. PTI CHS VN VN