Senior Congress leader and party candidate from Anandpur Sahib constituency Ambika Soni on Monday minced no words to say that she would not hesitate to teach the ruling SAD-BJP combine a lesson if they continue to “intimidate the Congress party workers”. The former Union Minister made it clear that she would take up on priority all the “false cases” and that of intimidating the Congress workers.
“I have been a political activist...and I will show this Government what it is to be a political activist,” said Soni, in a strongly worded statement. Soni, while interacting with the media, pointed out the Akali-BJP combine “has been intimidating the Congress sarpanchs to join them and leave the Congress otherwise they will not get the funds for work in their areas…many people supporting us have been arrested only recently...if this would go on...I will show them what a political activist can do”.
Admitting that lot of money and liquor flows during the days ahead of voting, Soni said that it was up to the Commission to check. “People use these wrong ways to lure voters. I have made it clear that we would not indulge in any such activity. People ask me what would we give, botal (liquor bottle), packet (of drugs) ya paise (or money),” Soni told The Pioneer. Maintaining that anti-incumbency against the SAD-BJP-led State Government was stronger than against the Congress-led Central Government, Soni said that local issues would make ineffective the national issues this lok Sabha election in Punjab.
“There are issues which are not exactly the lok Sabha issues, but that actually concerns the people. People here in my constituency don’t talk about the national or international issues like internal or external security. But, they are concerned about their pensions, rations, availability of sand, growing drug menace,” she said. Soni asserted that there was “no (Narendra) Modi wave in Punjab”, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would affect the vote share of the ruling combine rather than that of the Congress. “AAP harms Congress vote bank in Delhi elections as the party was in power there,” she said.
Accepting that the party in Punjab had “become complacent” during 2012 State Assembly polls, Soni added that would not work at that time as we were doing today. “There were some wrong decisions of fielding the candidates...we could not take the advantage of the anti-incumbency factor at that time... but lessons have been learnt and a different criteria has been adopted this time to select the candidates,” she said.
Soni said the party’s move to field stalwarts for lok Sabha election has infused energy amongst the party cadre and “they see a hope with Capt Amarinder, Bajwa, Jakhar contesting polls.” She said: “Various factions within the party have come united, and I have worked to sustain this, and this would pay results.”