M A I N   N E W S

Manpreet draws crowds but no concrete agenda on offer
Chitleen K Sethi and GS Paul
Tribune News Service

utopian wishlist Politics No blood relatives in the same Cabinet 50 pc Assembly seats for women, youth No MLA as minister for more than two terms Social Elimination of VIP culture; ban on beacons, sirens No liquor vend in village Tough law to check drug flow into Punjab Economic No new taxes, but ensuring compliance with the old Continuing subsidies to small and marginal farmers Winning back the confidence of NRI investors

Amritsar, November 14
Disappointing thousands of his supporters who were expecting him to declare an open political war against the Badals on Sunday by either launching a political party or a third front, Punjab former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, however, chose to reach out to the masses through a “Jago Punjab Yatra” with the blueprint of his agenda for a utopian state.

Announcing a radical economic, political and social reforms programme to establish a clean political and administrative system in Punjab, Manpreet gave a clarion call to the ‘aam admi’ of the state to give feedback on his vision.

The Jago Punjab Yatra, a first of its kind in Punjab, would be a 117 days yatra with Manpreet and his group of supporting leaders visiting a constituency each in the coming months with a mission to empower people of Punjab with education, skill development programmes, equality of opportunity and respect of merit. “It is pity that ‘Punjab, which used to have its identification as ‘Sardaran di dharti” (land of lords), has been reduced to ‘Karzdaran di dharti’ (land of debtors),” he said.

The broad “awakening agenda” as regards sagging economy, corruption, poverty, illiteracy, drug addiction and unemployment was listed as the core reform that needed to be ushered in.

Apparently hitting out at the Badal father-son duo, Manpreet said “no blood relatives should serve in the same Cabinet”. In politics, his agenda also speaks of “reserving a quota of 50 per cent seats in the state Legislature for women and youth”.

“No MLA may serve as a Cabinet minister for more than two terms and no blood relative should serve in the same Cabinet. The VIP culture in Punjab would be eliminated and except for emergency services, the use of beacon/siren would be banned,” he advocated.

Talking about his social agenda, Manpreet wanted no liquor vend to be located within the boundaries of a village. “In order to curb drug flow into Punjab, a MACOCA-type law should be put into place,” he said.

He advocated zero tolerance to corruption in politics and administration. “Police system needs to be significantly reorganised and depoliticised so that it is not open to misuse. The chain of command among the police needs to be revived,” he said. “For clean drinking water, Punjab must fund mega projects with international assistance for recycling of waste water for every citizen within five years,” he said.

Also, he has decided not to limit his “impact and effort only to a few limited constituencies”. “We are right now only a group of five-six persons. We want to take our agenda to the people first, gather their support. How can I form a ‘Manpreet private limited company’ and then ask for people to invest in it. It is for the people to form a party. Right now, I also don’t want to force a by-election in Gidderbaha and limit all our efforts to just my constituency?” he explained while talking to The Tribune.

Coming to the financial agenda, he emphasised that public debt of Punjab was unsustainable and it had to be reduced by cutting down on government borrowing by cutting down expenditure and helping the economy to grow so that revenue from taxes grew faster. “But that does not mean that we have to impose new taxes. Only ensure their compliance. Also, subsidies do not have to be withdrawn from everyone. Free electricity should be given to the small and marginal farmers,” he said.

“In our scheme of things, Punjab will not bully investors, especially the NRIs. We would have to win back their confidence by ensuring them that their investment would be safe here. It is ironical that there had hardly been any place on the globe where Punjabis have not established themselves whether in the field of politics, economy or socially, with their hardship, commitment and dedication. But, a Punjabi in Punjab has been proved to be a failure. After doing hardship for 63 years, he is under debt,” added Manpreet.