Former Chief Minister and Congress candidate from Amritsar Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday asked his BJP opponent Arun Jaitely to seek his prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s permission before promising to open trade routes between Amritsar and lahore.
“Because Modi is speaking an entirely different language that is purely jingoistic and confrontationist,” he pointed.
Referring to Jaitely’s frequent wish-list of developing Amritsar as an important trading centre, Capt Amarinder pointed out that it requires good neighbourly relations with Pakistan. “But will it be possible with Modi already having spelt out his confrontationist agenda with India’s neighbours particularly PakistanIJ” he asked, while urging him to first calm down his war mongering leader before promising something which he cannot deliver.
Taking a dig at Jaitley’s advise for not to buy a house across the border, Capt Amarinder said: “It depends on the trust and confidence people have in you, and yes, I am proud of having built up such confidence in people including you…”
Giani Zail Singh's daughter joins SAD
Bathinda: SAD on Monday received a big shot in the arm in Bathinda Parliamentary constituency with late President Giani Zail Singh’s daughter Joginder Kaur, former president of District Congress Committee (DCC) Anil Bhola and Congress Municipal Councilor Sadhu Ram Kusla, among others joining the ruling party along with hundreds of supporters.
While Kaur has a lot of influence in Bathinda and Faridkot Parliament constituencies, Anil Bhola, a right-hand man of former Finance Minister Surinder Singla, enjoys great support in the urban voters of Bathinda.
An influential landlord, Bhola joined Akali Dal in protest against the Congress’ alliance with PPP president Manpreet Badal, whom they blamed for indulging in land grabbing and ruining the traders and businessmen.
Bhola alleged that Manpreet Badal and his armed supporters had tried to grab their ancestral 16 acre land in 2009, besides grabbing 159 kanal Punjab Wakf Board land meant for International Cricket Stadium, Sethi Petrol pump on the pretext of lease, slapping false FIRs against businessmen and traders including known seed trader of Gidderbaha.
I lET MY WORK SPEAK FOR MYSElF: HARSIMRAT
Bathinda: Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal on Monday said that real character of People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) candidate Manpreet Badal was being laid bare with people coming forward to testify against his atrocities in Bathinda, Gidderbaha and elsewhere.
Harsimrat, while welcoming entry of Congress leaders — including municipal councilor Anil Bhola — into the SAD fold, said that atrocities committed by the PPP chief while in office as Finance Minister were being uncovered now and asked Manpreet Badal to come clean on the allegations leveled against him.
Harsimrat said that as far as she was concerned, she would let her work speak for itself. “When I first came to this constituency, there was a demand for clean potable water which I have fulfilled by installing 652 RO plants and 357 water works in the entire constituency, among others,” she added.
Bathinda MP said: “Besides my career as a politician, I have also tried to reach out to the people on a personal level through ‘Nanhi Chaan’ social initiative. This initiative has bettered the lot of thousands of women in her constituency.”
‘BAJWA, CAPT WORKING TO DEFEAT EACH OTHER’
Bathinda: SAD president Sukhbir Badal on Monday said that PPP chief Manpreet Badal would lose forthcoming parliamentary election from Bathinda with largest margin in the State and would be followed in this dubious roll of honour by Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa and Congress Amritsar candidate Capt Amarinder Singh.
Sukhbir, addressing a public meeting, said that he was making an open statement that the PPP chief would be the biggest loser in Punjab because he had been thoroughly exposed before the people.
Stating that credibility was everything in politics and that a person shorn of credibility had nothing to fall back upon, the SAD president said the manner in which the PPP chief had jumped into the Congress band wagon after promising never to ally with the party had damaged his credibility beyond repair.
He said that Manpreet’s decision to join hands with the Congress has “resulted in virtual liquidation of PPP as a party and a revolt against Manpreet's candidature in the Congress. This means that he is now getting support from neither the PPP nor the Congress. That’s why he will lose this election by biggest margin in Punjab,” said Sukhbir.
BADAl UNDER DElUSION OF MODI WAVE WHIlE BJP SEES NONE: BAJWA
Gurdaspur: Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday said that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy son Sukhbir Badal were under the “delusion” of Narendra Modi wave which the senior leaders from their alliance partner, BJP, had out rightly denied.
Bajwa, who is seeking his re-election against SAD-BJP combine candidate Vinod Khanna, and Aam Aadmi Party nominee Sucha Singh Chhotepur, said that Badals should do some reality check in view of denial of any such wave by one of the senior most BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, the former Union Minister who himself was contesting the lok Sabha election and who had formulated the party manifesto.