The Punjab Congress on Saturday sounded bugle for the 2017 Assembly elections in the State urging people to maintain the same momentum and ensure that the Akali-BJP Government is inflicted a historic defeat.
“This is the beginning of the final battle”, Congress Deputy leader in the lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh declared to applause from a sizable crowd of people who attended the ‘lalkar Rally’ against the Akali-BJP Government.
Addressing the rally here, Congress leaders, including Capt Amarinder Singh, leader of the Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Sunil Jakhar, former PCC presidents Mohinder Singh Kaypee and lal Singh and former union ministers Rl Bhatia, Preneet Kaur and Manish Tewari, said Congress could not be seen more powerful and more united as it was on Saturday with almost each and every party worker and leader from all over the State registering his presence and participation.
Capt Amarinder declared that it was the beginning of the final and decisive battle against the Akali-BJP regime which will be taken to its logical conclusion in 2017 Assembly elections which Congress was certain to win with a thumping majority.
He lashed out at the BJP for its alleged double standards for preaching one thing and practising something else.
He pointed out, while the BJP president Amit Shah was claiming to hold a rally against the drugs at Amritsar, his party was supporting the Akalis and its tainted ministers in the Vidhan Sabha.
Capt Amarinder dared Shah,”If you are really sincere about dealing with the problem of drugs, better withdraw your support to the Akalis who are neck deep into drugs”.
He pointed out, not only in Punjab, even in Delhi they were aligning with Akalis despite claiming that they were not happy with the alliance.
Blaming Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for his failure to curb the menace of drugs, he lashed out at the Akalis for promoting and peddling drugs in Punjab.
He pointed out, three prominent ministers of the party including Bikram Majithia, Avinash Chander and Swaran Singh Philaur had already been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate.
Capt said, although the scourge of drugs was the worst problem Punjab faced, there were other issues like unemployment, sliding economy, industrial and agriculture decline that had plagued the State.
He regretted that Badal had not learnt any lessons even after being the Chief Minister for five times.
later Capt Amarinder in an informal interaction with the reporters rejected a question suggesting that the Congress was divided in Punjab. “How can you say the Congress is divided when 35 of the 43 MlAs and over 60 ex-MlAs, former PCC presidents and Union Ministers attended Saturday’s rallyIJ” he asked, while asserting, “Congress was never so much united and strong as it proved to be today”.