BADALS BIGGEST MONOPOLISTS, SAYS PHOOLKA
Saturday, 28/06/2014
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PUNJAB’S RULING FAMILY HAS CAPTURED ALMOST EVERY MAJOR BUSINESS IN STATE, SAYS AAP LEADER
LUDHIANA: Aam Aadmi Party leader Harvinder Singh Phoolka has welcomed the statement of chief minister Prakash Singh Badal that politicians should not be involved in business and hoped that the CM would practice what he preached.
On Friday, Phoolka stated here that Punjab’s ruling family of the Badals had captured almost every major business in the state. “The CM’s son, son-inlaw and extended family have also expanded those businesses phenomenally, all the while claiming no conflict of interest,” he added.
He said the declared assets of deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and his MP wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, had grown from 60 crore in the 2009 parliamentary elections to ₹ 108 crore in the 2014. “Sukhbir’s assets alone grew from ₹ 13 crore in 2004 to 91 crore in 2012,” said Phoolka. He said the family dominated multiple businesses, including transport, hospitality, media, civil aviation, power, and agriculture, and gave direct favours to these sectors. “Badal’s claiming that his son’s businesses date prior to his entering politics is misrepresentation of facts. The Badals monopolise all business sectors they invest in,” he alleged, adding: “If the CM has to save Punjab from capitalists, he should start from own family.”
