Manish Tewari hits out at Akali-BJP alliance

LUDHIANA: Lashing out at the ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab, Union minister Manish Tewari today accused it of cheating the people of Punjab with false promises, which "it forgot as soon as it assumed power."

The Information and Broadcasting Minister, who is also the local MP, claimed the ruling alliance "cannot count on a single achievement" in its six-and-a-half years' rule.

"This government is surviving on funds that are provided regularly by the Congress led UPA government under various Centrally sponsored schemes. Otherwise it would have gone bankrupt long back," Tewari claimed.

Tewari alleged that the government even tried to divert these funds.

"Let me challenge them to prove that they have fulfilled a single promise so far. Where is the surplus power that they claimed to export to the neighbouring country, the allowance for the unemployed youth, the laptops for students?" he asked.

Tewari said be it is the right to information, right to education or the MGNREGA, the UPA government has tried and done everything possible for the betterment of common people.

He said even the right to food bill would have been passed had the opposition not sabotaged the move by stalling the functioning of the parliament.