BJP candidate from Amritsar, Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that Congress is at odds and unable to accept the harsh reality that it is going to be reduced to a two-digit party.
“A two-digit party must reconcile to this reality and plan for the future. After all, there is no last day in the calendar of politics,” Jaitley wrote in his blog.He said, “A leopard never changes its spots. The Congress party feels that it was born to rule. It is unable to visualise another party or person in power, least of all Narendra Modi. The guilt of having tried to implicate him falsely for over 12 years has created a fear psychosis about Modi in the minds of Congressmen. It is for this reason that the Gandhis are shrill to the extent of being illogical when it comes to any references, made to Narendra Modi.”
He said Salman Khurshid had virtually accepted defeat when he said that Congress might consider supporting the Third Front. Fortunately, the projected figure in their case showed that even these manipulations were not likely to work.
“The electorate is now aware of these manipulative tendencies and is likely to deliver a decisive result. Those who toy with the idea of Third Front with the Congress support are only reviving an idea which has repeatedly failed,” he said.
Jaitley said such non-ideological combinations formed purely for convenience can never deliver governance.“There are many who rejoice the political instability. It is only then that they can claim some relevance. I am sure that the electorate is wise enough to defeat not only the Congress but also the ‘merchants of instability,” he said.Talking about his rival Congress candidate, Capt Amarinder Singh, Jaitley said, the initial dose of Press statements and some manufactured issues made news since they reflected his ability to fight a battle. “But a few days down the line, Captain exposed his weakness. He is unable to discuss national issues. He repeats the same two-three points most of which have no relevance to the current political environment in which the lok Sabha elections are being held. The often repeated renditions, at some stage, cease to make news. They render the campaign dull and pedestrian,” he said
The BJP heavyweight said, “The Captain complains that a lot of celebrities have come to campaign for me. He is right. I have a large number of family members, political friends and achievers campaigning for me. My political colleagues and leaders have also done their bit. But why has no senior Congress leader agreed to campaign for CaptainIJ Is Anand Sharma the best he could getIJ” Jaitley asked.
Gen VK Singh distorting facts: Capt Amarinder
Amritsar: Congress candidate from Amritsar, Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday criticised former Chief of Army Gen VK Singh for distorting his statement about 1965 war with Pakistan and his role in it purely for political considerations. Capt Amarinder clarified that he had never said that he had saved Amritsar as it was lt Gen Harbaksh Singh, the GOC Western Command who had saved it while he was his ADC during the 1965 Indo-Pak War. Capt Amarinder said, Gen Singh was not even in the Army at the time of 1965 war. However, he should have known the facts by now,particularly when he had also served as the Chief of Army Staff.
Referring to the incident of 1965 when Gen Harbaksh Singh refused the command of his Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Chaudhary, Capt Amarinder said, India had learnt that Pakistan had a 2nd Armoured Division which was planning to attack through Kasur which would cut off the main access at Beas. The Army Chief had asked Gen Harbaksh to abandon the defence line at Ichhogal Canal and fall back on Beas.
He said, had Gen Harbaksh obeyed the COAS orders, Amritsar would have been lost. “That is why I said Gen Harbaksh Singh was the saviour of Amritsar and I was his ADC”, he said, while pointing out that he had said in context of his long relationship with Amritsar as he had spent 22 days here during the war.He said, these facts were stated in both the books, one written by Gen Harbaksh and the other written by him.Referring to Gen Singh’s statement over the delay in one rank one pension, Capt Amarinder remarked, “It is better to get it than not to get it at all”.
He said, during the last 30 years, the Congress was not the only party in power and BJP and other parties had also been in power. “Why didn’t they do itIJ” he asked, while adding, now when Congress did it they were trying to find flimsy faults.He said, it is unbecoming of a former COAS to play politics on such an important decision which has been welcomed by all ex-servicemen, be it retired officers, JCOs or jawans.
Bajwa to seek death for drug smugglers
Pathankot: Congress candidate from Gurdaspur, Partap Singh Bajwa on Sunday said that after getting elected, his first priority would be to move a private member’s Bill in the lok Sabha proposing death penalty for the drug dealers, smugglers and their political patrons.Bajwa said that political patronage to the drug smuggling racket was well known and only a stringent approach like capital punishment would prove to be deterrent.Campaigning in several villages, he said, the country would have to adopt a policy of zero tolerance to drugs and this could be done only by proposing strong steps on the pattern of Singapore and Dubai.
He said that majority of the youth in Punjab were addicted to drugs which were being manufactured within the State and easily available in every village. The so called shops supplying these drugs existed in even those villages where there was no doctor and this was too well known to the political rulers.The PPCC chief said that ever vigilant Border Security Force had been seizing large quantities of heroine being smuggled from across the border but Narendra Modi and Parkash Singh Badal were casting aspersions on this force by blaming lax vigilance on the borders for this state of affairs.
He said Modi had admitted the gravity of the problem here but he was trying to shield his alliance partners.Bajwa said, it had happened perhaps for the first time that the addicts had started holding demonstrations demanding their doze which was earlier coming from Rajasthan where the sale of poppy husk was legal. It was being smuggled to Punjab under political patronage.