Patiala, April 3 (IANS): Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday appealed to Punjabis to support the party to save Punjab from the “onslaught of outsiders”, asserting Delhi-based parties did not want to win hearts but subjugate the state.

Asserting that SAD believed in ‘sarbat da bhala’ and had always practised what it preached, the SAD President, who got a warm welcome both in Sanaur and Ghanur constituencies during his ongoing Punjab Bachao Yatra, appealed to Punjabis to strengthen the regional party to save Punjab.

“On one side is your own party which has always taken the ‘gareeb, kisan, mazdoor’ and traders along with it in the path to progress, while on the other are centrist forces who want to weaken Punjab and take over its resources.”

Badal said: “Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have looted you. Both these parties have used the resources of Punjab for their national goals. They have failed to carry out any development or even establish one big infrastructure project. They have persecuted the youth who are asking for jobs and presided over the collapse of law and order and flight of capital from Punjab to other states. The time has come to rid the state of all centrist parties.”

Senior leader Prem Singh Chandumajra, N.K. Sharma, Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra, and Bhupinder Singh Sheikhupur accompanied the SAD President.

Badal also questioned the slogan of ‘badlav’ which had been propounded by both the Congress and AAP. He said Punjabis should introspect on what change had occurred in Punjab during the last seven years except for the collapse of its economy and denial of social welfare benefits to the poorest of the poor.

He also questioned the hypocrisy of both the Congress and AAP, saying, “While both these parties have formed an alliance at the national level, they are doing a drama of opposing each other in Punjab.”