Express News Service
CHANDIGARH: AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal called the Congress government in Punjab the “most corrupt and hypocritical government” in the state’s history and said CM Charanjit Singh Channi had made a mockery of the government.
Addressing a rally at Lambi, constituency of former CM Parkash Singh Badal and home turf of the Badals, Kejriwal said that in the upcoming Assembly polls, Punjab should decide whether it needs a puppet government that can play “gulli-danda” or a pro-people government that builds schools and hospitals. “You have given opportunities to the Congress for 25 years and SAD-BJP for 20 years, and tried their governance many times. Give us (AAP) a chance in 2022,” he said.
Commenting on the ongoing feuds within the Congress, Kejriwal said, “Navjot Sidhu is fighting CM Channi, Sunil Jakhar is fighting Sidhu, Partap Singh Bajwa is fighting Jakhar. In fact, they are all fighting to plunder Punjab because they know the Congress government is on its way out.”
Kejriwal accused the Congress government of making hollow announcements every other day. “Channi says the price of sand has been reduced, electricity has been made cheaper and cable rates have been cut. In reality, people are not getting any benefits,” he alleged.
Pointing that Channi has been invoking his SC origins everywhere, the Delhi CM said, “Kejriwal is a member of every family in the SC community. He provides free education to every child of the community, the best treatment and free coaching to become officers.”
Addressing the same rally, AAP’s Punjab president and MP Bhagwant Mann targeted Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal and said, “Badals have buses, planes, hotels and many other businesses. But now, to mislead people, they are doing the drama of being farmers.”
Mann said Congress is again asking for five years by giving an account of 80 days, “but who will give the account of four-and-a-half years of Amarinder Singh’s rule in which Channi and other Congressmen were ministers?”, he asked.
The Congress on Thursday invited applications from the party’s ticket aspirants for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls with state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu asserting that merit will be the key criteria for the selection of candidates.
The first meeting of the Congress’ Punjab election committee was held here under the chairmanship of Sidhu.
Punjab Congress general secretary Yoginder Pal Dhingra told reporters that the party has decided to accept forms from the ticket aspirants and December 20 will be the last date for the submission of applications.
He said the screening committee will sit for the next three days starting Friday and the ticket aspirants can meet its members.
Dhingra said Punjab Congress chief Sidhu has also decided not to accept any money along with application forms from ticket aspirants.
He said the Congress was earlier accepting Rs 10,000 per application form.
Dhingra said a resolution in the meeting was passed, praising former prime minister Indira Gandhi for India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh.
After the meeting, Sidhu told reporters that another resolution was passed in the meeting authorising Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take a final call on ticket distribution.
He said the Congress will fight the upcoming polls unitedly.
Each worker will be involved and will be given responsibility, he added.
Sidhu said tickets would be allotted on the basis of merit.
Early this week, the Congress had announced the formation of the Pradesh election committee under the chairmanship of Sidhu for the assembly polls.
Among those who are members of the committee include Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, senior party leader and coordination committee chairperson Ambika Soni, former Punjab Congress chief and campaign committee chairman Sunil Jakhar, MP and chairman of manifesto committee Partap Singh Bajwa, party’s all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs and state ministers.
The Congress had last week announced various party panels for the Punjab assembly polls, making senior leader Ajay Maken the head of the committee for screening prospective candidates and appointing former state unit president Sunil Jakhar as the campaign committee chief.
Senior leader Ambika Soni will chair the party’s coordination committee and another former state unit chief and Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa is the chairman of the manifesto committee.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday exuded confidence that his party will defeat the BJP, the AAP and the Congress in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
Addressing a gathering in Sujanpur here, Badal asserted that Punjabis will not let outsiders govern them and will place their trust in the SAD, which represents the regional aspirations.
“Just like Mamata Banerjee was successful in West Bengal, we will also defeat all three forces pitted against us to emerge victorious in 2022,” he said.
Targeting the Congress, Badal said its countdown has started.
He claimed the infighting within the Congress will lead to its destruction in the coming days.
The Akali leader said the SAD government will never ask Punjabis to fill forms as the Congress did.
“We have always stood by all the commitments made in our election manifesto. Be it giving free power to farmers or introducing novel social welfare schemes like the Shagun scheme and the ‘atta-dal’ scheme, all was done immediately after government formation,” he added.
Taking on Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Badal asked him to tell the people of Punjab as to why he allegedly filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking the closure of the state’s four thermal plants.
“Kejriwal also stands for handing over the river waters of Punjab to Haryana and Delhi,” he alleged.
Badal said even Kejriwal’s “drama” of promising to give Rs 1,000 every month to all women in Punjab if his party is voted to power did not cut ice with the people of the state.
“Punjabis are asking why not one woman in Delhi has received Rs 1,000 per month till now,” he said.
Similarly, Kejriwal talked about regularising all contractual employees in Punjab but his government has not regularised 10,000 contractual employees in Delhi, the Akali leader said.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday left for Delhi where he is likely to meet senior BJP leaders to discuss a possible seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming state assembly polls, according to sources.
Singh is expected to meet the BJP’s central leadership on Friday, the sources said.
On December 7, Singh and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is the BJP’s incharge for the Punjab Assembly polls, had met over lunch at the former’s residence.
Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said earlier that the BJP was in talks with Singh and former Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa to forge an alliance with their parties ahead of the state assembly polls.
Singh had an unceremonious exit from the Congress in September when he was forced to resign as the Punjab chief minister amid a power tussle with state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Later, Singh floated his own party, Punjab Lok Congress, to contest the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
(With PTI Inputs)
