AAP govt brought only ₹2,600 crore investment in 4 years, says Badal citeing RTI data

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had perpetrated a fraud in the name of the Invest Punjab summit by claiming an investment of ₹1.55 lakh crore in the state over the last four years, whereas the actual investment was only ₹2,600 crore.

Addressing a massive rally here along with Samana Halka in-charge Jagmeet Singh Haryau, the SAD president said that, as per the latest RTI information accessed by the party from the Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion department, only ₹2,600 crore has been invested in Punjab during the last four years.

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“The only investment that has come into Punjab during the AAP tenure is ₹2,600 crore, which has been made by Tata Steel in Ludhiana,” he added.

Demanding an explanation and an apology from the Chief Minister for allegedly making false claims about ₹1.55 lakh crore investment during the AAP tenure, Mr Badal said the SAD had consistently asserted that investors were wary of investing in Punjab due to a culture of extortion and ‘gangster raj’.

“We are committed to restoring the rule of law and offering concessions to industry to kickstart investment in the state in 2027,” he added.

Speaking about the ongoing protests against the spate of sacrilege incidents and the demand for stricter laws, as seen in Samana, Mr Badal said, “We will strive to enact a law providing for the death penalty in such cases.”

He added that during the SAD government in 2016, the Vidhan Sabha had enacted a law providing for life imprisonment for sacrilege against Sri Guru Granth Sahib, but it was not approved by the Centre.

He further alleged that sacrilege incidents in Punjab began after AAP entered the state in 2014 and referred to the conviction of AAP legislator Naresh Yadav in a related case.

Mr Badal also condemned the state government’s decision to conduct a so-called drug census using teachers. He said this would not only place an additional burden on government teachers but also adversely affect students’ education. “Moreover, it is not the job of teachers to conduct such surveys,” he said, demanding that teachers be immediately relieved from this duty.

The SAD president also spoke about how parties from Delhi had allegedly discriminated against Punjab. He said Punjab was denied its own state capital during reorganisation and that Punjabi-speaking areas were excluded from the new state.

“Half of our river waters were also given to Rajasthan by the Congress party, against the riparian principle. Parties from Delhi come to rule and exploit, while the SAD has stood by you through thick and thin,” he added.

Speaking about former minister Surjit Singh Rakhra, Mr Badal said the leader was taking credit for development projects that were conceived and approved by S Parkash Singh Badal.

He also accused him of making false claims about financing the SAD and spending crores on flood relief, alleging that he had done nothing of the sort.

Outlining his vision for Punjab, Mr Badal announced that the next SAD government would provide free education to all students up to the graduation level.

He said the party was also committed to establishing a Skill University, offering interest-free loans of ₹10 lakh to youth, expanding the Atta-Dal scheme, providing an old-age pension of ₹3,100, a Shagun benefit of ₹1 lakh, and a 75 per cent subsidy for livestock-based farming.