A day after Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu attacked the part high command on its decision to not to announce the Chief Ministerial candidate before polls, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday challenged the Congress party to name its chief ministerial candidate in Punjab.

“The Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has lost the trust of not only the people but also the top Congress leadership of the State,” said Sukhbir, talking with the media after addressing two large public meetings in favour of Mohinder Singh Sandhar in Sham Chaurasi and Varinder Singh Parihar in Hoshiarpur.

Sukhbir said that there was a free for all in the Punjab Congress on the issue of the chief ministerial face of the party on the eve of the State elections. “Channi wants to stick on to the chair but the party leadership does not regard him as a bonafide chief minister.

“Pradesh Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu is blowing his own trumpet and disrespecting Channi every day. Punjabis have turned against Congress because it has failed to implement any of the promises made to them. You will see it self-destruct in the coming days,” he added.

Answering another question, Sukhbir said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s responsibility to resolve pending issues of Punjab. “The people of the State have been waiting for decades for successive Prime Ministers to correct the injustice meted out to the State. The Prime Minister should, during his forthcoming visit to the State, announce the transfer of Chandigarh as well as Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab besides assuring the State that its riparian rights over its river waters would be recognized,” he said.