Dismissing reports of any bickering or dissension among his party workers, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday asserted that the Akali Dal and the SAD-BJP tie-up were absolutely united. At the same time, he charged the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress with making such “baseless” claims to “destabilise the alliance”.
His remarks came following reports of bickering and dissension among SAD workers and leader in the wake of swapping of candidates from one seat to another for the upcoming state assembly polls.
“The party is fully united to give a crushing defeat to both Congress and AAP in the upcoming Assembly polls,” said the 89-year old Badal while addressing media on the side-lines of Sangat Darshan programme in Bassi Pathana assembly segment.
Asked about Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s allegation that there was an understanding between SAD and Congress for the election, the five-time Punjab Chief Minister sought to quell the charges as “totally baseless, erroneous and politically motivated”.
“It is unimaginable and unethical to have such understanding as both Akali Dal and Congress are poles apart ideologically,” Badal said.
“As fire and water cannot co-exist, how come Congress and Akalis canIJ” he quipped.
On a query regarding state-wide agitation by Education Guarantee Scheme teachers over their demand for regularisation of jobs, the Chief Minister said that he would welcome any initiative to have direct dialogue with anyone aggrieved across the table to sort out such issues amicably.
He appealed to these teachers to “shun the path of agitation” saying that his doors were ever open to resolve any such matter with a positive approach.
On the Sutlej Yamuna link (SYl) canal issue, he maintained that Punjab neither has spare water to share with anyone, “nor is there any need for the construction of SYl canal and nobody will be allowed to construct it in future”.
Not a single drop of water would be allowed to flow out of the state, he added.
Making a frontal attack on the Congress leadership for allegedly betraying Punjab and Punjabis to satiate their lust for power, Badal rebuked the party's state unit chief Capt Amarinder Singh “for trying to become a martyr by smearing blood on his little finger and showing lip sympathy with the people on the SYl issue”.
“Amarinder Singh is the prime conspirator along with the former Congress High Command and late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who performed the ground-breaking ceremony of SYl at village Kapoori in Punjab way back in 1982. On the contrary, the Akali Dal from day one opposed the construction of SYl by launching State-wide morchas,” he stated.
Daring Capt Amarinder to list even a single achievement to his credit during his previous regime, Badal said that now in false hope of forming the Government again in the state, “Captain is promising moon to everyone…However, the wise people of Punjab would not get swayed by his tantrums as they are well aware of his dubious credentials”.