The Punjab Congress on Sunday called upon the party members to snub “forces of disruption, distraction and sabotage” by winning the two by-elections in the State.
“This is the time for the State parties to rise unitedly and work for the attainment of a single objective of making Congress victorious in the two seats of Patiala and Talwandi Sabo, where bypolls will be held on August 21,” said the State Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa.“This task is not difficult, keeping in view the tsunami of anger among the people against the mafia rule, brazen corruption and the drug menace that are eating into the vitals of the Punjabi society,” he said.
Bajwa said that as a first step, the Congressmen should project the image of cohesiveness and unitedly work for the defeat of Akali Dal in Patiala and Talwandi Sabo by-elections.
In an apparent attack on senior party leader Jagmeet Singh Brar over his remarks against party’s senior leadership, Bajwa said: “As evident from the latest activities of certain disgruntled, discontented and frustrated forces, a design is at work to sabotage the Congress at every level and the party men will have to remain alert against such elements and confront them with full force.”
“It is not for the first time that such forces have become active against the party and its leadership. These people believe in immediate gains and this has been the only factor that has been dictating their politics,” he said.Partymen should snub “forces of disruption, distraction and sabotage” by winning the two by-elections and strengthening the hands of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, he said.
Attacking the ruling Akali Dal, Bajwa alleged that after having failed to keep its promises of taking Punjab to higher orbit of development, the party had reverted to a “panthic agenda” and this reflects the utter frustration of the SAD-BJP alliance.“It is not without reason that BJP, SAD’s alliance partner, has raised the banner of revolt and the two parties parting company is not ruled out as that will be the only option left with BJP when further pushed to the wall,” he said, apparently referring to SAD recently asking BJP MlA Anil Joshi not to politicise the matter after the Punjab government decided to rollback the ‘advance tax on stock’.
At the same time, he made it clear that the Congress would carry forward its own pro-people agenda and would not base its politics on negativity. “Akali Dal has the history of creating tension when in trouble for vested political interests but the Congress is all prepared to defeat such nefarious designs,” he said.