lashing out at the Badals, Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused them of ruining Punjab and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to side with them while still talking of removing corruption.
Rahul also “officially” declared Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the February 4 elections.
Taking his rivals head on right on the first day of his three-day Punjab campaign tour, Rahul said that the State was under the “monopoly” of the Badal family. He accused the Badal family of being responsible for the drug menace and corruption in the State.
Addressing the crowd in Majitha, the bastion of Bikram Singh Majithia, in the presence of Amarinder Singh and former parliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Gandhi scion attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its chief Arvind Kejriwal also.
“The AAP is trying to befool the people of the State by making false and empty promises. Punjab will not be run by remote control as it does not need one,” he said and accused Kejriwal of wanting to become the Chief Minister of Delhi and Punjab at the same time.
Rahul alleged that the upcoming Assembly election was not to “form a Government, but to save Punjabiyat and Punjab’s honour and only the Congress can do it.”
“Punjab will be run by its people. I want to tell you that Punjab’s Chief Minister will be from Punjab. Amarinder Singh is Punjab’s chief ministerial candidate and he will be Punjab’s Chief Minister,”
he said.
Showering praises on the Patiala royal, Rahul said, “Amarinder Singh has given his blood and sweat for Punjab.
He has worked day and night for the development of Punjab. He has always worked for the Punjabi and Sardar community.”
Five years after he first raised the issue of the drug menace in Punjab, Rahul declared that if the Congress came to power the Government would “bring a law to deal with the drug menace in the State and put all those involved in the nefarious business behind bars”.
“The Congress will bring in such a stringent law that drug peddlers would shiver to think about drugs…The Congress will fight against drugs and we will win the war against the menace,” he said.
Rahul also said that farmers, small traders and other such groups have been ruined during the Badal family’s rule that had its hands in every profitable business in the State.
He cited Guru Nanak Dev to explain how the Akalis had made perverse the noble idea of giving and changed it to taking.
“Guru Nanak said ‘everything is yours, nothing is mine’ and the Akali Dal says ‘everything is mine,’” said Rahul.
He took on Prime Minister Modi, pointing to the incongruity of him talking about corruption and still backing the Badals.
“Modiji claims to fight against corruption, then how can he support Akali DalIJ Whole nation knows it (Akali Dal) has ruined Punjab,” he stressed.
He also mentioned how demonetization had adversely affected all sections of society.
Rahul also addressed party rallies at Rampura Phul, Talwandi Sabo and Bathinda Urban on the first day. The highlight of his tour will be joint public rallies with Amarinder and Sidhu at lambi and Jalalabad, home constituencies of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Badal.
Capt Amarinder has been the face of party’s poll campaign, so much so that its election manifesto listed “Captain ke nau nukte” (Capt’s nine solutions), besides other programmes including ‘Coffee with Captain’, Halke vich kaptan, Captain Smart Connect scheme, among others.
The delay in the announcement of his name as chief ministerial candidate had given enough fodder for the rival political parties who had been claiming that the former Chief Minister would be “sidelined” after the polls.
In fact, Kejriwal had stated that new-entrant Navjot Singh Sidhu has been promised the Chief Minister’s post.