Independent MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains, the MLAs from the Atam Nagar and Ludhiana South constituencies respectively, on Tuesday announced their return to their parent party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, by extending unconditional support to it in the presence of Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Incidentally, the MLAs are brothers.
Escorted by Youth Akali Dal president Bikram Singh Majithia, both the MLAs announced that they have realised that the Shiromani Akali Dal is the only party in Punjab which can fulfil the aspirations of the people of Punjab, and they have, therefore, decided to extend their unconditional support to the party by becoming its associate members.
Welcoming their support to the parent party, Mr Badal said: “Soon you should expect leaders from other parties joining the SAD as they are already in touch with us.” He said that the SAD-BJP government is committed to translating its development agenda into reality within the next three years and the government has already started giving final touches to the blueprints.
He said that the budget this year would reflect the development vision of the government and said that the government was fully committed to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Punjab.
When asked about the storage problem being faced for the procured wheat in the state, Mr Badal put the onus on the Union government for failing to find a long-term solution for grain storage. He said the fact is that the Congress-led UPA government waited for a full-blown crisis before taking any action since it does not believe in taking any preventive measures to avert such a crisis.
He said that it is for the first time that the industrial associations of the country have started blaming the UPA government for its policy paralysis. He said that S&P’s ratings downgrading of India was worrisome as it has sent negative signals to international investors.