There was nothing lazy about Sunday-October 7. In fact, Punjab virtually went into an election mode with all major political parties holding their massive show of strength, trading barbs against each other, the parties and their workers crowding the rally grounds in the politically-strategic Malwa region carrying banners, flags, raising slogans — pro and anti.
The day was reminiscent of the last day of election campaigning, when all political parties indulge in a high pitch battle of words to emerge victorious. But, it was just the beginning.
The state’s three major political players — the ruling Congress, challengers Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and the third front led by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — flexed their muscles drawing huge crowds for their respective rallies, which has become an issue of prestige rather than just popularity.
While SAD made an apparent attempt to save its image that suffered a huge dent following the report of Justice Ranjit Singh Commission on sacrilege and related firing incidents, the Congress and AAP targeted the regional outfit over the same — making it amply clear that sacrilege would be the main issue for Punjab in 2019 elections, putting the rest — be it drugs, farmers, social welfare, industry, among others — on back burner.
All three events witnessed sizeable turnout. And whose show outnumbered whose is just a matter of guesses and surmises. However, the immense attendance during AAP-led ‘rosh march’ from Kotkapura to Bargari in Faridkot — main areas affected by sacrilege incidents — demanding action against guilty was enough to give sleepless nights to the panthic SAD, and so the ruling Congress.
Not only religious or panthic leaders, people from all walks of life, including even women and children, participated in the protest march.
On the other hand, the Congress and SAD held their show in each other’s home-turf. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh lashed out at the Badals for all the sins of Punjab at Lambi — the bastion of SAD patron and five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. In reply, Akalis came down heavily on the Chief Minister over his failure to fulfill all the tall pre-poll promises by holding a parallel ‘Jabar Virodh’ rally at Patiala — Capt Amarinder’s citadel.
Akali leaders did not mince a word to blame the Congress for trying to malign the image of the SAD and the Badal family by using various means, including the Bargari issue.
CAPT SOUNDS POLL BUGLE, LAUNCHES ‘MISSION 13’
Sounding the poll bugle from Lambi, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday launched Punjab Congress’ ‘Mission 13’ to mark the beginning of party’s election campaign in the state. ‘Mission 13’ is aimed at winning all the 13 Lok Sabha seats of the state in the ensuing elections.
At the same time, Capt Amarinder launched a scathing attack on the Badals from their home ground accusing them of blatantly lying on Bargari sacrilege case and subsequent incidents of police firing of 2015, as well destroying the lives of youth and farmers by failing to do anything on the issues of drugs and farm debts.
Capt Amarinder, addressing a rally at Mandi Killianwali in Lambi, urged the people to wipe out SAD from both the state and the national politics by voting the Congress to power in all the 13 seats in Punjab. “Congress would win all the 13 parliamentary seats in the state, including Bathinda and Lambi segments,” he said.
Taking on his arch rival and predecessor Parkash Singh Badal for his “falsehood” on the police firing incidents, Capt Amarinder said that the former Chief Minister claimed to have slept through the entire episodes, though the then DGP had already exposed the lie before the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission. He pointed that the DGP had spoken to Badal at 2 am that morning and had also spoken with the IG 22 times.
Capt Amarinder squarely blamed the Badals for drug related deaths in the state, and for failing to save the farmers from their debt burdens, which was left to his government to waive off despite the economic crisis facing it.
Reiterating that he would not indulge in political vendetta against the Badals or anyone else, Capt Amarinder made it clear that anyone found guilty by the SIT for sacrilege cases would be punished as per the law and nobody would be spared.
“Badals would have to pay for all their sins, including the sacrilege and false cases as well the deaths of youth due to drugs and of the farmers,” warned Capt Amarinder, adding that be-adbi will not be tolerated at any cost.
Finance Minister Manpreet Badal said that the public response to the rally was a clear sign of the demolition of the Badals’ fiefdom. Condemning the Akalis for destroying state’s future generations, he vowed that the Capt Amarinder government will build a new Punjab for the people.
Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar hit out at Badal accusing him of putting all his might into saving Sukhbir, which he described as his compulsion. “Badal had put the panth under threat to save his son,” said Jakhar while appealing to the people to break the Badals’ monopoly on the SGPC to end political exploitation of religion unleashed by them.
SAD NOT BADAL FAMILY’s PROPERTY: SUKHBIR
Facing revolt from within for his style of functioning and amidst rising clamour for change of guard, SAD president Sukhbir Badal, during party’s Jabar Virodhi rally at Patiala, declared that SAD “is not the property of the Badal family” — something he said for the first time in the recallable past.
In an apparent attempt to damage control and please the disgruntled taksali leaders, Sukhbir said: “SAD is not a property of the Badal family. It is a property of elders and the (Sikh) community. Today, I am serving Akali Dal. In next few years, it could be someone else. SAD is a representative of Sikh community.”
On the same lines, former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal too suggested Sukhbir to honour all senior or taksali Akali leaders in a befitting manner. For the same, Badal deputed SGPC’s former president Kirpal Singh Badungar to prepare a list as soon as possible of all jathedars who were jailed either with him or before him.
Sudden change of stance can be attributed to its senior leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s resignation from all party posts, besides open revolt by three senior Akali leaders from Majha — MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Rattan Singh Ajnala and Sewa Singh Sekhwan.
Launching a sharp attack on Capt Amarinder, Badal accused him of conspiring to take control of Sikh institutions, including the SGPC, saying that ‘Sikh Sangat’ would not allow the Congress to succeed in its “nefarious designs”.
Likening Capt Amarinder to “dictator and Hitler”, Badal claimed that the Chief Minster wanted to create a "stumbling block" to stop people from reaching the rally he was addressing in Patiala.
Badal also hit out at the Congress regime for having failed to honour its pre-poll promises. He asked his son Sukhbir to hold two more similar rallies in Doaba and Majha region also to make people aware about the “failure” of the Congress-led State Government.
Defending his party and taking on his rivals on the issue of sacrilege, Badal said: “Today, they are talking about sacrilege of religious scriptures. When Army had attacked the Golden Temple, the damage was caused to the shrine and Guru Granth Sahib and Akal Takht.”
Sukhbir, on the issue of sacrilege, said that he was upset with the incidents at Bargari in 2015. “Badal Sahib at that time could not sleep for two days. Those who are involved in this heinous crime are demons,” he said adding that at least 70 incidents of sacrilege had taken place during one and a half years, and now no Congressman raises this issue.
Lashing out at the Congress and AAP, Sukhbir accused both the parties of spewing venom against SAD during last elections for their "vested interests".
KHAIRA SETS 15-DAY DEADLINE FOR CAPT TO ACT AGAINST GUILTY
Aam Aadmi Party’s rebel MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Sunday set a 15-day deadline for the Congress-led Punjab Government to act against those responsible for the death of two persons in connection with sacrilege incidents in 2015.
Khaira, addressing a rally at Kotkapura before a protest march towards Bargari, declared that in case, the Government could not take any action against the police officials as well as other elements responsible for the incident, “the party would intensify the agitation”.
Besides AAP’s rebel MLAs, its state unit president Bhagwant Mann, Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Harpal Singh Cheema, Lok Insaaf Party’s president and MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains, religious leader Baljit Singh Daduwal, self-styled jathedar Dhian Singh Mand, among others marked their presence during the impressive show.