Pushed to the corner by the rival parties on the issue of appointing its secretary Asha Kumari as Punjab party affairs in-charge despite her conviction in a land grab case, the entire Congress party on Monday huddled together to defend her a day after her appointment.
On the other hand, the ruling SAD-BJP combine and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) continued their attack on the Congress saying that it does not have leaders with clean image. AAP national leader and state affairs in-charge Sanjay Singh minced no words to say that Asha Kumari will “bring nirasha (despair) in Punjab”.
Defending Kumari, Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh has virtually told the rivals to shut their mouth, while party’s chief spokesperson Sunil Jakhar held a Press conference to back the party high command’s decision.
Kumari, at the same time, has made it clear that she has no intentions of quitting the post as she was having the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s backing. The announcement came after her meeting with Sonia Gandhi.
Dalhousie MlA Kumari was appointed as Congress in-charge of Punjab to succeed veteran Kamal Nath, days after he quit in the wake of uproar by BJP, SAD and AAP over his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Hailing the appointment, Capt Amarinder said that he had agreed to her name “with full responsibility”.
Attacking the rival parties for criticising her appointment, Capt Amarinder lambasted the BJP, SAD and AAP for their “double standards” saying that they should instead introspect and look within before pointing fingers at the Congress.
“You better mind your own business and set your own house in order before worrying about what we do and do not do in the Congress,” he told the opposition leaders who are criticising her appointment, particularly the AAP, seven of whose MlAs are in jail for serious criminal charges ranging from corruption to outraging the modesty of women.
lashing out at AAP, he said: “You have no moral scruples in defending your legislator accused of molesting a woman and slapping an elderly man and here you have the guts to pontificate us on morality.”
Referring to the case pending against Kumari, Capt Amarinder said that her conviction has been stayed by the High Court and the legal proceedings were going on, like in the case of BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu.
He said that while the courts are yet to pronounce the final judgment in the matter, here are our opposition leaders who are ready to pronounce her guilty.
The former Chief Minister asked the opposition, particularly the Akali Dal and the BJP, that if they could nominate Navjot Singh Sidhu, whose conviction has been stayed by the Supreme Court, to the Parliament, how could they object to Kumari’s appointment.
lashing out at the Akalis, he told the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that he had no moral right to speak on the matter, since one of his own ministers, Tota Singh has been convicted of corruption and the president of the women’s wing of his party Istri Akali Dal, Bibi Jagir Kaur stands convicted of a more heinous crime related to the tragic disappearance of her own daughter, whole of Punjab knows, under what circumstances.
Jakhar, addressing a press conference, stated that the rival parties were deliberately engaging in false propaganda against the Congress to divert the attention from actual issues.
“It is not going to help the people of the state…There are other serious issues in the state which the opposition should focus on…The state is battling with drug problem and unemployment. The opposition parties should focus on these aspects,” he added.
The former state party chief and Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa maintained that appointing Kumari was “an internal matter and prerogative of the Congress president to choose whosoever she wants”.
That is not all! Congress leaders at the national level have also came to her defense and shot back at the BJP by reminding them of their national president Amit Shah who was an accused in a murder case and currently out on bail.
Besides, they also pointed at cases against BJP chief in Karnataka Yeddyurappa who was accused of corruption, 10 pending cases against Uttar Pradesh party chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, among others.