Badals Rich Farmers With Seven-Star Hotels: Captain Amarinder Singh

Calling into question the Badals over the issue of disproportionate assets and income, Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh expressed bewilderment at how could Badal, who had inherited just 80 acres of land and some cattle from his father, could amass wealth of such magnitude.

"When farmers across the state are in distress and several of them are committing suicide, there is only one farmer, Badal - who has weaved thousands of crores from his 80 acres of land he inherited from his father, besides few buffaloes", he said, while addressing an impressive public meeting organised by ex-MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman here today.

He also said that owing to the Chief Minister’s obsession for Sangat Darshans, and the Deputy CM’s propensity to touring overseas, an administrative collapse has taken place in Punjab which is costing the state and the nation.

"Sukhbir Badal has two seven star hotels in Delhi where he sells a cup of tea for more than the monthly old age and widow pension in Punjab", he said, while adding, “he is constructing one more hotel in Chandigarh also.” He regretted at the existing state of affairs, saying that the Badals were busy building up mansions and hotels and accumulating wealth worth thousands of crores of rupees.

"I urge Badal to share the secret of making so much wealth from 80 acres of land with other farmers of the state also so that they can also earn good money and are not forced to commit suicide", he remarked.

He even added that most of the cabinet, barring Bikram Majithia, was reduced down to non-performing actors who had no authority and were no more than ‘rubber stamps’. That has resulted in the government to suffer and have adverse impact on the functioning of the state.

In a candid conversation with the press, Captain Amarinder Singh said that the Congress was suitably positioned to beat the Akali-BJP alliance and AAP in the state.  He also said that while Akali-BJP partnership was at its lowest, there was no confidence that APP could govern in the public. In response to the PCC reshuffle issue, he said that he wasn’t the authority there and the matter was a prerogative of the Congress president.