Samrala, March 1 Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Sunday that his party is committed to establishing a world-class skill university once his party comes to power in the 2027 Punjab elections.
Addressing a gathering here as part of the party's 'Save Punjab' campaign, the SAD president said the university would have one college affiliated to it in each district.
"We will set a target of providing skill education to 1 lakh youth every year. The industry will be an integral part of this initiative and will train youth according to their needs to ensure assured employment," Badal said.
"I am convinced that this is the way forward for Punjab. We are already running a pilot project in Muktsar in coordination with L&T, and we are confident that we can replicate it across the state," he added.
Badal also strongly criticized the Aam Aadmi Party government for imposing "tax terrorism" on the trading community.
"Traders are facing GST raids even as tax officials have been given targets and are constantly raiding shops and imposing hefty penalties on them," he alleged.
Badal said that all this would stop once the SAD government was formed. "The Rahat scheme, which stipulated a one-time tax, will be reintroduced and tax officials will be barred from entering trading establishments."
He said that neither the Congress, AAP, nor the BJP were concerned about safeguarding their interests.
"They only come to rule," he said, adding that in stark contrast, the SAD had always stood by them through thick and thin.
"Even though we now have only three legislators in the state assembly, we stood by you during the devastating floods last year when you were abandoned by both the Centre and the AAP government," he added.
He appealed to the Punjabis to extend wholehearted support to the SAD while asserting that they could no longer afford to experiment.
Badal also announced that the next SAD government would ensure tubewell connections to all farmers who were deprived of this facility.
"We are also committed to providing interest-free loans of Rs 1 lakh to youth to enable them to become entrepreneurs. We will also provide flour and lentils at Rs 4 and Rs 20 per kg under the Atta - Daal scheme and increase assistance for the marriage of daughters of weaker sections to Rs 1 lakh," he added.