Aam Aadmi Party’s suspended MP from Patiala Dr Dharamvira Gandhi on Friday announced to launch a “political forum” to counter his own party, other than the traditional political parties of Punjab, the ruling SAD-BJP combine and the Congress — the announcement of which would be made on August 23.
Under suspension since August 2015, Dr Gandhi claimed that several “prominent politicians” would be joining his “forum”. “The formal announcement of their names will be made during a press conference at Chandigarh on August 23,” said Dr Gandhi.
Gandhi did not mince a word to accuse AAP of engaging in “petty politics for power”, which has “reduced itself simply to the race for political power at the cost of professed claims for changing the system”.
“I make a fervent appeal to all the well-wishers of Punjab, including individuals, political groups, organizations, and intelligentsia such as lawyers, teachers, writers, and artists to come forward and join hands under a common banner so that a new era for Punjab, matching the needs of 21st century, could be ushered in,” said Gandhi in a post on his Facebook page on Friday evening.
Dr Gandhi’s “appeal” on the Facebook “in the wake of ongoing deep crisis in Punjab and to address the possible solutions”, under the heading “A platform by the well-wishers of Punjab coming up shortly”, read that in the days to come, “people concerned with the future of Punjab, including political parties, organizations and eminent individuals are all set to float a common platform”.
“Along with the national parties, the regional party like SAD have played havoc with Punjab whereby Punjab is now facing serious crisis in agriculture and industry, in education and health services and is seized by drug mafia,” he said.
Taking on AAP, he said that the past experience is a clear testimony to the fact that centralized political parties such as Congress and BJP, “including the newly-born political outfit called ‘Aam Aadmi Party’ are not only compromising the interests of the state of Punjab but are also bulldozing political autonomy of the State”.
He said that the people of Punjab reposed a tremendous trust in AAP, but “it has depoliticized the people of Punjab, has emasculated the local leadership and relegated the real issues to the back, plunging people into total dismay”.
Not leaving SAD in his attack, Dr Gandhi said that despite being a regional outfit, “SAD has slipped into the hands of such a coterie of people who have enjoyed power in collusion with the corporate houses at the cost of Punjab, and in the process has not only betrayed the interests of Punjab, but also has not spared even the Sikh institutions”.
He stressed that there was an urgent need to build a regional and effective political outfit “wedded to the interests of Punjab while following principles of social justice, democracy and federalism. This is the only way to address to the all-pervasive Punjab crisis and eventually prepare a ground for suitable remedy”.