Parties backing out on promises in manifesto should be held accountable: PS Badal
SAD patriarch and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal Tuesday batted for a law to hold parties accountable if they back out on promises made in their election manifesto. "A law should be framed so that parties which back out from promises in poll manifesto are held accountable," Badal told reporters at Chandigarh. He said there are examples when parties made tall promises to the people before the polls, but fail to fulfil these later. "People are misled by such promises," the veteran leader, a five-time chief minister, said. Hitting out at Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, the Akali leader said, "Before the (Punjab assembly) polls, Amarinder Singh promised on the holy Gutka Sahib that he will do this and that. He promised jobs to each family, waive debt of farmers, but once Congress got the votes and came to power, these promises were forgotten." Badal alleged that the ruling Congress in Punjab has betrayed each and every section of the society. "Farmer loans have not been waived. The youth were promised jobs and unemployment allowance, smartphones... Which have not been given," he said. So, parties should be made accountable, otherwise "these (poll promises) will remain as mere lectures", Badal added. Recently, a farmers' body -- Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajowal) -- had said manifesto released by parties at the time of elections should be considered a legal document by the Election Commission of India and if parties failed to fulfil promises made in them, they should be liable for legal action. On March 31, the SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab will kick-off a series of rallies in view of the April-May parliamentary elections. PTI
