Union Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday taunted Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh over his decision to contest the upcoming Punjab polls from Lambi, and referred the latter as a ‘coward’.
Harsimrat told, “Someone, who calls himself a ‘fauji’, will not run away from the battle like a coward at the sight of the first general in front of him.”
“No wonder he left the fauj and came back to his palace.” “Lambi is a just a ploy to run away in order to avoid losing badly,” she added.
Earlier on Saturday, Amarinder Singh declared that he will contest the upcoming state assembly elections from Lambi, which happens to be the home turf of the ruling Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, while also contesting from the home seat of Patiala.
It would be the first time in the history of Punjab that a former chief minister will take on a current one, that too in the latter’s home constituency.
Captain Amarinder stated that he had sought the party high command’s permission to contest from Badal’s constituency Lambi to ensure the total defeat of the Akali leadership in Punjab responsible for destroying the state through drugs, mafia and ‘goonda raj’. Assembly elections in the state will be held on February 4, where people of Punjab will vote for 117 legislative seats.
SIDHU HAS MADE A MOCKERY OF HIMSELF, SAYS HARSIMRAT BADAL
Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday criticised former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Navjot Singh Sidhu after he joined the Congress Party, saying that the cricketer-turned-politician has made a mockery out of himself.
While sardonically referring to his career as the special guest on a TV comedy show, Kaur told, “I think Navjot Singh Sidhu has been laughing at the ‘laughter challenge’ and attending ‘comedy nights’ for so long that he has made a mockery out of himself. He disrespected the party that gave him so much respect that they twice made him the Member of Parliament.”
“Not only did he not bother attending the parliament, he does not have even one thing to his name that he did for the people of his constituency,” she added.
Kaur, who is the Member of Parliament from Bhatinda, also taunted Sidhu for his disloyalty towards the BJP.
“I think his loyalty is highlighted by the fact that he could neither be loyal to the party that made him the Member of Parliament, nor to the ‘pradhaan’ or his Godfather who brought him to politics.
A person, who cannot be loyal to his own and goes shopping for a post to see who can give him the biggest discount or the highest position, cannot be trusted,” she said.
Harsimrat added, “One day, he is joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and when he is not declared as the CM candidate, he drops it like a hot potato and goes shopping to the next party. And now, 20 days before the elections he has arrived like this.”
Disregarding his intention to serve the people, the Union Minister said that Sidhu doesn’t seem to be eager enough to serve the people.
“When he was made the Member of Parliament, he had his government at the Centre. He had his government at the state. It was a golden opportunity for him to serve the people. But I don’t think his intention was ever to serve them, which is why he ran away when the opportunity arose,” she said.
Earlier in the day, the former BJP leader officially joined the Congress in the presence of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi. This political development came months after Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur joined the grand old party.
The Congress is planning to field Sidhu against the Badals in the upcoming polls.
Sidhu may either be fielded from Lambi, where Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is the Shiromani Akali Akali (SAD) candidate or from Jalalabad against Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.