Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that he was 101 per cent confident of the Congress sweeping all the four bypolls in the State.
At the same time, he lashed out at the Akalis for their criticism of his government over ‘failed promises’, pointing out that all promises were being fulfilled, in stages, and the remaining would also be implemented as the fiscal situation of the state improves. “Even in my previous term, I had ensured the fulfilment of all promises,” he pointed out.
The Chief Minister, on a road-show to campaign in favour of party’s candidate for Dakha bypolls Captain Sandeep Sandhu, described him as a committed worker with the welfare of the people close to his heart. The mood was in favour of the Congress as the people want development, which his government was delivering to them, he added.
Interacting with journalists during the roadshow, Capt Amarinder also lashed out at Pakistan over the imposition of 20 dollars fee on Indian pilgrims visiting Kartarpur Gurdwara via the Corridor, saying that it was tantamount to putting a ticket on visiting the gurdwara.
“How will the poor pilgrims pay this amount,” he asked, pointing out that all the devotees would be placing ‘chadawa’, in any case, at the gurdwara of their own volition. The Sikh religion propounds ‘khulle darshan’ – an ideology that Pakistan seemed bent on violating, he said.
To a question on the final programme with regard to the Kartarpur Corridor inauguration, the Chief Minister said that it was being worked out with Islamabad by the Government of India.
“Punjab Government is working closely with the Centre to ensure that all infrastructural and other works for the historic event are completed well in time. I hope that Pakistan too would meet its promised deadline to make the 550th prakash purb truly historic for the Sikh community,” he said.
On Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statements blaming Punjab and Haryana for the high level of pollutions in Delhi, Capt Amarinder said that though the stubble being burnt in Pakistan and the northern states was carrying pollutants to the national capital due to the westerly winds, it was only a small part of the problem.
“The bigger issue is that Delhi had more pollution of its own than Haryana and Punjab put together,” he said, accusing Kejrwal of trying to divert blame to the other states to hide his own failures.
Notwithstanding this, however, his government was taking all possible steps to ensure that the few misguided farmers who are still burning paddy straw in Punjab also put an end to the damaging practice, said the Chief Minister.
Farmers using the machines being distributed by the Government for paddy waste management had reported huge success, and also improvement in the soil, he said, adding that they were being encouraged to create awareness among their peers.
“NOT IN FAVOUR OF TALKS TILL PAK STOPS CROSS-BORDER MILITANCY”
“I am not in favour of talks with Islamabad till they stopped cross-border militancy and killing of Indian soldiers,” said the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday.
At the same time, Capt Amarinder made it clear that he would not be visiting Pakistan but would merely go through the special corridor to visit Kartarpur Gurdwara Sahib, with which his family had close historical ties.
Agreeing that Pakistan was making all-out efforts to revive terrorism in Punjab by pushing in weapons and militants, especially after the developments in Kashmir, Capt Amarinder Singh, however, asserted that Punjab Government was fully prepared to tackle the threat.
“The security forces are fully alert and geared to meet any eventuality, and the State is not facing any law and order issue,” he said.
He added, “In fact, Punjab’s law and order situation today is better than ever before...Both the central and state security forces are working together to neutralize the threat and every single infiltrator from across the border into Punjab had been caught.”