Tarn Taran – Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Vice President and former MLA Ravinder Singh Brahmpura on Sunday stated that while the Union Government’s decision to rename Adampur Airport after Sri Guru Ravidass Ji reflects the sentiments of humanity and the Dalit community—a move SAD wholeheartedly welcomes—the Union Budget presented today has utterly disregarded the Guru’s core principle of equality and the teaching ‘Hari Ke Naam Bin Jhoothe Sakal Paasare’ (Without the Truth, all worldly displays are false).In a press statement issued here today, Brahmpura remarked, “Guru Sahib envisioned ‘Begampura’—a land free from sorrow and poverty. Renaming the airport is a commendable gesture, but a ‘true tribute’ would have been if the Prime Minister had arrived today announcing substantial scholarships for Dalit students, permanent employment for landless laborers, and concrete housing for the poor in the Budget.” He lamented that, contrary to Guru Sahib’s philosophy, subsidies for laborers and the impoverished have been slashed.
Reiterating SAD’s commitment, the Khadoor Sahib constituency in-charge asserted that party president Sukhbir Singh Badal has never viewed the Dalit community merely as a vote bank. “Welfare schemes launched during Akali regimes—such as the ‘Atta-Dal Scheme’, ‘Shagan Scheme’, and 200 units of free electricity for the SC community—uplifted the living standards of the poor. However, today the BJP at the Centre and the AAP in the state are indulging only in the politics of names and hollow announcements, while the common man’s plate is running empty,” he said.
Brahmpura further alleged that the Centre has “broken the backbone” of the ‘Annadata’ (farmers) by using “economic scissors” on fertilizer subsidies in the Budget. He added that the “deafening silence” regarding GST complexities and the pending claims of exporters has pushed Punjab’s trade and industry to the brink of ruin. He questioned why Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann failed to safeguard the state’s interests and remained silent on these burning issues during the Prime Minister’s visit.
Taking a sharp dig at the Chief Minister Punjab, the Akali leader accused Mann of betraying the SC community by failing to demand the release of withheld scholarship funds for students during the PM’s visit. He asserted that the future of Punjab’s Dalits, backward classes, and farmers is secure only under the inclusive leadership of Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Brahmpura concluded by stating that following the path shown by the Gurus, the Shiromani Akali Dal will continue to fight at every level against both the Central and State governments for the rights of the downtrodden.