Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday concluded the electioneering for Monday’s bypoll with total confidence of a clear Congress victory in all four constituencies, trashing Akali chief Sukhbir Badal’s charges of no development in Punjab under the current regime.
During a Mukerian roadshow, the Chief Minister ridiculed Sukhbir’s statement that he (Amarinder) was not accessible to the people, and pointed to the surging crowds to counter the Akali leader’s claims that his roadshows had received poor public response. “Sukhbir is either blind or is doing an ostrich act to avoid facing the harsh reality that the people have rejected him and his party,” said Amarinder.
The entire Akali leadership is a spent force, and now they have nothing but lies to give to the people, the Chief Minister asserted
He assured the people that he would take care of the constituency as his own, and take forward the vision charted by ex-MLA Rajnish Kumar Babbi, who had passed way after a prolonged illness. Babbi’s wife and current Congress candidate Indu Bala will translate all the promises made by him to the people of Mukerian, said the Chief Minister.
Confident of a clean sweep in all the four assembly segments headed for voting on Monday, Amarinder said while victory and defeat was a way of politics, the mood was clearly in favour of the Congress. He rejected the suggestion that Dakha and Jalalabad were Rs hot’ seats, saying he did not see them as unique segments in any way, and did not perceive either the BJP or SAD to be a strong opponent in these constituencies or in Phagwara and Mukerian.
Amarinder, who has been campaigning in all these seats for the past five days, said he strongly believed that all the four seats were set for a Congress win, with no other party standing a chance. The development work done by his government in the past two and a half months speaks for itself, he said, asserting that the people wanted progress, which they had discovered that no other party except Congress could deliver in Punjab.
The chief minister was accompanied by PPCC President, Sunil Jakhar, Cabinet Minister, Tripat Bajwa and other senior leaders in the campaign.
SUKHBIR SAYS CM HAS ACCEPTED DEFEAT
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday said by stating categorically that the by-elections’ result would not be a referendum on his government the chief minister, Capt Amarinder Singh had admitted defeat outrightly.
“Also by stating that the Congress party will fulfill its election manifesto in the next two years Capt Amarinder has admitted that none of the promises made to the people have been fulfilled till now,” he said, alleging that there was complete failure of all the three roadshows organized by him which were attended by security personnel in the absence of people.
Badal said ‘bhaicharak sanjh’ would triumph in the by-elections with the people reposing faith in the SAD-BJP alliance. He said Punjabis understood that they had been deceived by Capt Amarinder and his false oath in the name of holy Gutka Sahib and ‘charan’ of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. “People know that path-breaking development coupled with unique social welfare benefits had been initiated under the leadership of Parkash Singh Badal’s government.
He said the Congress government stopped all development work immediately after taking over the reins of the State. Money sent to villages by the previous SAD-BJP government was recalled. In the last nearly three years the Congress government has discriminated against each and every section of society. Farmer loans were not waived leading to 1400 suicides. The youth who were promised Ghar Ghar naukari have not been given any government jobs. Dalit students have been deprived of SC scholarships. Girls are not getting cycles. School children are not getting mid-day meals. Employees are being denied Dearness Allowance even as contractual employees are not being regularised.
Asking the people to teach a lesson to the corrupt Congress government which had created lawlessness in the State and was discriminating against the Dalits and backward classes, Badal said “this is the only way to give a jolt to this government and force it to fulfill the promises made to the people.
The by-elections are going to be held on the assembly seats of Phagwara, Dakha, Mukerian and Jalalabad on October 21.