“On the contrary, Congress exploited the common man over the past several years to strengthen its vote bank but sided with the big shots like the Ambanis, Tatas and Birlas,” he said.

He was addressing a series of public rallies as part of the development tour in Sahnewal, Kumkalan and Raikot in Ludhiana.

He added that a sizeable chunk of the population is still grappling with problems of basic civic amenities like drinking water, sewerage and electricity, even 61 years after Independence.

Badal further urged the people to support the SAD-BJP alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

He also sought the support and cooperation of people for the candidates of SAD-BJP to pave way for the installation of an NDA-led government.

At Sahnewal, Badal handed over a cheque of Rs 1 crore to the local MC for the execution of various development works. He also disbursed cheques worth Rs 3.19 crore to the different village panchayats for their development. He further said that Rs 37 crore would be spent on the overall development of the Sahnewal assembly.