Prakash Singh Badal says Guv's address 'directionless' and full of retrograde steps

Former Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal on Tuesday termed the Governor's address to the state assembly as 'directionless' and "full of retrograde steps which contain no concrete outline for the prosperity of the state."

"The address sounded more like a cry-baby's list of grievances than a sound policy and vision statement of grown-up and mature administrators. It is a fault-finder nota path-finder. It seems that the present government just wants to push the blame for their failures on their predecessors, "he said in a statement.

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The SAD stalwart, however, said that he was willing to be lenient on this lapse as the government was just a few days old and needed time to adjust to their new roles.

"I hope the Chief Minister puts his foot down and tell his people to start talking about their own performance rather than telling lies about the previous government. It is a worn out excuse and many Congress governments in the past have unsuccessfully tried to hide their inefficiency behind this pretext," he said.

Badal said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh should also tell his team that the lame excuse of "bad legacy and empty coffers" will not convince people.

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"The people of Punjab saw ten years of unprecedented all-around development. The state's revenue had gone up fromRs 5,400 crore to Rs 37,000 crore per annum. Similarly, the debt to GSDP ratio was brought down by us from 48 per cent to just 30 per cent. If this government continues debt reduction even at our rate, it should be able to bring down the figures by another 18 percent," he said.

Nonetheless, the SAD leader assured the new government of full support and cooperation in any constructive measures undertaken by them in the interest of the people.

"We will not criticise for the sake of criticism. Infact, we will be the first ones to praise them whenever they do something good. I give them this assurance on behalf of myparty," Badal said.