Dhuri (Balwinder Singh): Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini issued a strong call for political transformation in Punjab during a massive public gathering in Dhuri on Sunday. Launching a scathing attack on the state leadership, Saini remarked that while jokes can successfully run cinema halls, they cannot effectively run a government. He asserted that the people of Punjab have grown weary of the empty promises and hollow assurances of the Aam Aadmi Party administration and are fully prepared to choose a path centered on development, transparency, and good governance.
Addressing the large crowd, Saini criticized AAP leaders, labeling them “illusionaries” rather than revolutionaries. He argued that these leaders consistently mislead the public regarding state achievements to conceal their own structural administrative failures. The Chief Minister pointed out that despite Dhuri being the home constituency of Punjab’s Chief Minister, the state leadership has distanced itself from both the district and its constituents. Saini lamented that Punjab, once a frontrunner in national growth, has been dragged into backwardness by regional parties prioritizing personal interests. He further claimed that Punjab’s highly publicized war against drug abuse exists solely within newspaper advertisements, with zero noticeable progress visible on the ground.
Saini highlighted a massive disparity in how both states treat their agricultural communities, stating that the farming sector has been profoundly betrayed by the current Punjab administration. While Punjab’s farmers have been denied robust Minimum Support Price benefits and fair crop damage compensation, Haryana stands as the first state in India to purchase all crops at MSP. He noted that the Haryana government extended ₹16,500 crore in financial assistance to its farmers affected by severe rains and floods last year, ensuring that “J-Forms” are issued online immediately and payments are directly credited to bank accounts within 72 hours.
The Haryana Chief Minister showcased the achievements of the BJP’s “double-engine” governance model as a template for Punjab’s recovery. Saini detailed that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, structural social welfare schemes have uplifted millions of citizens, emphasizing that Punjab could achieve similar heights if voters back the BJP. He noted that in Haryana, the administration introduced a completely merit-based, transparent recruitment process that successfully provided government jobs to hundreds of thousands of youth without any bribery or systemic corruption. Out of 217 electoral promises made in Haryana, 63 were fulfilled within the very first year, with swift implementation underway for the remaining 153 pledges.
Saini concluded his speech by drawing sharp financial and social comparisons between the two neighboring states to illustrate Punjab’s administrative stagnation. He noted that while elderly residents in Punjab with an annual income up to ₹80,000 receive a monthly pension of just ₹1,500, Haryana provides ₹3,200 per month to seniors from families earning up to ₹300,000. Additionally, Haryana has distributed 160,000 homes to underprivileged families over the past eleven and a half years, implemented the ‘Deendayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana’ providing ₹2,100 monthly to women, and offered domestic gas cylinders at a subsidized rate of ₹500. Saini criticized Punjab’s Mohalla Clinics for lacking essential medicines and medical staff, contrasting them with Haryana’s Ayushman and Chirayu schemes, which extend up to ₹500,000 in free annual medical coverage to 15 million citizens. He urged voters to utilize their ballots to establish a development-oriented administration capable of restoring Punjab’s industrial and agricultural legacy.
