Ahead the crucial Shahkot Assembly bypoll, Congress’ divided house came to the fore during a rally on Thursday, held before the party candidate Hardev Singh laddi filed his nomination papers for May 28 elections.
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, State party chief Sunil Jakhar, State party affairs in-charge Asha Kumari and co in-charge Harish Chaudhary, former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Jalandhar MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh, besides others accompanied laddi to file his papers.
However, all the Congress leaders, opposing laddi’s candidature, were missing from the party rally.
Visibly unaffected by the absence of party leaders, Chief Minister said that it really does not matter for four-five people.
laddi too targeted those opposing his candidature in his fiery speech during rally. “I express gratitude to the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder who has reposed faith in me despite the ongoing malicious campaign against me. I assure you (Captain) that I will come out clean out of this controversy and raise your head always.”
In fact, Capt Amarinder’s presence, along with the party’s top brass including the Cabinet Ministers, was ensured to display a show of strength especially at the time when party candidate is embroiled in a major controversy.
The SHO, who booked laddi in a mining case, has also become the centre of bye-elections with the opposition parties targeting the ruling Congress of shielding the offender while victimizing the cop.
Entire campaign is concentrated on the mining while the issues pertaining to the constituency and the people have take a backseat.
laddi had unsuccessfully contested the 2017 assembly elections, losing to the former MlA Ajit Singh Kohar, whose death has necessitated the bypolls. He will contest elections for the second time. He claimed of changing the two-decade history in Shahkot — the seat which Akalis have been wining since past 21 years.
His name was announced by the party high command, on the insistence of the Chief Minister, after a ‘sting operation’, allegedly showing him demanding his share of goonda tax in illegal mining activities, went viral.
A complaint was filed with the Election Commission on the issue, following which Mehatpur SHO PS Bajwa booked laddi and four others in a mining case.
Coming in laddi’s defence, Capt Amarinder said that he knows him for long time and the whole controversy is opposition’s creation ahead of Shahkot bypolls.
“Every vote for laddi would be a vote for the future of Punjab as the Congress is the only party that could bring the state’s progress back on track and that believed in implementing every single poll promise. I have known laddi for a long time as a man with a clean heart and commitment of purpose,” said Capt Amarinder.
Taking a dig at SAD president Sukhbir Badal’s demand for laddi’s arrest, Capt Amarinder dismissed his statements as frivolous alleging that the former Deputy Chief Minister was used to talking out of his hat. “Does he (Sukhbir) represent the ECIJ” he quipped.
CAPT lASHES OUT AT SAD, AAP ON HISTORY ISSUE
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh lashed out at the Akalis and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for spreading a canard over the issue of school History books while urging the people of Shahkot to vote for the betterment of their area and the state.
“The Akalis, led by the Badals, had failed to do anything for Punjab or its people during their 10-year rule, while AAP’s Sukhpal Singh Khaira is misleading people by spreading untruth instead of raising issues related to the people’s welfare,” said the Chief Minister, while addressing the public rally before accompanying Congress candidate for Shahkot by-election Hardev Singh laddi for the filing of his nomination papers.
Chief Minister said that he won’t talk big like SAD president or Khaira but could assure the people of Shahkot of implementing all their genuine demands.
Coming down heavily on the Akalis for ruining the state during their regime, Capt Amarinder said that they had a history of damaging Punjab’s interests, right from the time of the state’s reorganization.
Capt Amarinder also lashed out at the Akalis for politicizing religion, pointing out that it was their own Education Minister Daljit Cheema who had set up the committee in 2014 for review and finalization of the History syllabus.
“They (Akalis) could not even stop the imposition of GST on langar at Harmandir Sahib nor could they get it waived off, despite their ally being in power at the Centre,” the Chief Minister pointed out, adding that this showed their duplicity with regard to the Sikh Gurus and religious institutions.
SAD’s HIGH-lEVEl DElEGATION TO MEET ECI, DEMANDS PROTECTION OF OFFICERS
A high level delegation, comprising of party MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder, former Minister Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, former Minister Daljit Singh Cheema and MP Naresh Gujral will meet the Election Commissioner of India on Friday to submit a detailed memorandum on the prevailing circumstances in Shahkot assembly constituency which is going to polls on May 28.
Meanwhile, SAD has also asked the poll panel to protect the life and liberty of all police and civil officials in Shahkot assembly constituency, saying that the manner in which an SHO, who had received DGP’s Commendation Disc, was vilified by the Congress government had demoralized the entire official machinery and dashed all hopes of a free and fair by-poll.
SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema, in a memorandum to the Election Commission, said that the treatment meted out to Mehetpur SHO Parminder Singh Bajwa by the Congress government had demoralized the police as well as civil machinery in Shahkot. “Unless remedial action is taken by the EC, free and fair elections are not possible in the constituency,” he said.
The memorandum said that the Congress government had sent a clear message to officials that in case they did not toe the party’s line, they would also meet the same fate as the Mehatpur SHO. “In case the EC does not move immediately to ensure protection of all these officers in Shahkot, the entire election process will become a farce,” it added.
The memorandum also brought to the notice of the EC that complete anarchy had been let loose by the Congress party in Shahkot and that this had been widely reported in the media.
Cheema said that despite the fact that the case against laadi was registered on solid grounds on May 4, the entire government machinery took it upon itself to discredit the police officer and put pressure upon him to rescind his decision.
“This is done despite the fact that a non-bailable case has been registered against laddi. Even the Pradesh Congress president as well as the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh resorted to a vilification campaign against the officer by terming him as mentally unstable and amoral,” Cheema added.
SAD requested the EC to give directions for protection of the life and liberty of the police officer, besides calling for immediate arrest of Congress candidate Hardev laadi as well as protection from persecution of Mehatpur SHO as well as all other government officials in Shahkot constituency.
SAD TO ADD YOUTH POWER
SAD is all set to add the youth power in the ensuing Shahkot assembly by-election. To assess the party’s preparations for the same, former minister and senior SAD leader Bikram Majithia on Wednesday took a meeting of all zone heads of the Youth Akali Dal (YAD), and explored various strategies to ensure victory to the party candidate Naib Singh Kohar.
Majithia asked the YAD leaders to tell the voters about Congress candidate’s criminal background, besides warning the people to “not to let a law-breaker turn into a lawmaker” as it could prove a curse for the region.
He also asked the youth leaders to talk with people about the development work done in the constituency during the SAD-BJP Government.
During the meeting, Majithia was apprised about party’s current position in Shahkot assembly constituency by the zonal heads who attended the meeting, and the ways that may help in tilting the election campaign in favour of SAD candidate were also discussed.
The next meeting over Shahkot by-poll would be held on May 14 at the party head office in Shahkot for which all core committee members, district presidents, office bearers and youth leaders of YAD have been invited.