Chandigarh: Promising to eradicate drug trade from Punjab by 2029, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) govt, accusing it of betraying the mandate of 92 out of 117 Assembly seats it secured in 2022.Addressing a party event in Patiala, where a large number of people joined the party under Harinder Singh Sabharwal’s leadership, Saini said Punjab had witnessed worsening corruption, drug abuse and misgovernance despite AAP’s promises of a drug-free state, 25 lakh jobs and relief to farmers.“Eradicating the drug trade from Punjab by 2029 is the BJP‘s guarantee. Those involved in the illegal trade will have to either abandon it or leave Punjab,” he said, asserting that the party would prioritise saving the state’s youth from drugs.Targeting chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Saini said governance could not be run through jokes and rhetoric. He challenged Mann to sit with AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and publicly account for the promises fulfilled by the government. He also questioned AAP’s claims of providing 60,000 jobs in five years and demanded a white paper on recruitment, alleging that concerns over favouritism and irregularities had surfaced in PCS and medical appointments.Contrasting Punjab’s record with Haryana, Saini claimed nearly two lakh government jobs had been provided in Haryana over the past 12 years, including around 46,000 in the BJP government’s two-year tenure. Recruitment for another 16,500 posts was underway, he said, adding that appointments were being made on merit without ‘parchi-kharchi’. He also targeted AAP over its unfulfilled promises of Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to women, Rs 2,500 pension to senior citizens and procurement of crops at MSP.Claiming that Haryana had fulfilled 76 election manifesto commitments in two years, Saini said the remaining promises would be implemented before the 2029 Assembly elections. He further claimed Haryana had become the first state to procure all crops at MSP and had transferred Rs 16,500 crore to farmers over 12 years as crop-loss compensation. Saini accused both Congress and AAP of holding Punjab back and said voters would hold the ruling party accountable in the next Assembly elections.
