Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
India

Congress made a mistake by declaring CM's face: Amarinder

Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Feb, 2022 05:33 PM
  • Congress made a mistake by declaring CM's face: Amarinder

Patiala, Feb 8 (IANS) Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said the Congress had made a big mistake by announcing a chief minister's face as "a chief minister should be decided on grounds of capability and not on the metric of caste, be it a Scheduled Caste, Jat or Hindu, which they had done."

Pointing out that Punjab was never before divided on caste or religious lines, Capt Amarinder said "Charanjit Channi does not have the calibre of a chief minister," and his tall claims cannot fool the people of the state.

"Channi claims he has done everything in 111 days, he's fooling the people. Every project has a gestation period and takes months to start," he noted, warning the people against getting carried away by such brazen lies since all the projects that Channi talks of were initiated by his government.

Interacting with the media after a public meeting in support of the Patiala Rural PLC candidate, Sanjeev Kumar Bittu, the former chief minister warned of an explosion soon from Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had been discarded by his own party for chief ministerial candidature in favour of Channi, saying the PPCC president was too ambitious to stay quiet for long.

Pointing out that leaders like Channi and Sukhjinder Randhawa had backstabbed him and misled the Congress high command after he had supported them in their political careers, the PLC chief said these men could not be trusted.

"They will compromise the interests of Punjab to further their own," he warned, in response to questions. He recalled how he had inducted Channi into the Congress and helped him become MLA and ensured Randhawa's seat in the last election.

Answering a question, the former chief minister said there was no comparison between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi as far as political and public life experience goes.

He had known Modi for long and used to meet him frequently in Delhi at a time when they were both chief ministers, he said, adding that the Modi government had helped him whenever Punjab was in dire straits.

"We have to work with them to ensure a safe future for Punjab," he stressed. "The future of Punjab depends on these polls," he said, underlining the need for close Centre-state coordination to secure the state's interests.

To a question on whether his wife, MP Preneet Kaur, would campaign for him or the Congress, Amarinder said it was for her to answer that.

"Politics is different...my mother was in the BJP and I was in the Congress. We sat in opposite benches in Parliament. Politics politics 'hoti hai pyaar pyaar hota hai'," he remarked.

Urging the people to vote for "vikas" which only the NDA could provide and not "vinaash", which the other parties would push Punjab towards, Amarinder expressed confidence that the people of the state would look after their interests and vote accordingly.

He trashed the surveys favouring the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying such polls were conducted even in 2017 and had proven to be false. While he could not predict the number of seats they would get, his party in alliance with the BJP and SAD (Sanyukt) was set to form the next government, he asserted.

MORE India ARTICLES

CBI arrests DSIIDC official, aide in bribe case

CBI arrests DSIIDC official, aide in bribe case
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday said that they have arrested a senior DSIIDC official and another man in connection with a a Rs 1.70 lakh bribery case. The accused were identified as Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) senior manager S.K. Singh and Subhash.

CBI arrests DSIIDC official, aide in bribe case

Farmer outfit releases first list of candidates for Punjab polls

Farmer outfit releases first list of candidates for Punjab polls
Just a month away from the Assembly polls in Punjab, the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM), a group of farm organisations, in its maiden electoral foray after getting the Central agricultural laws revoked, on Wednesday released its first list of 10 candidates out of 117 seats.

Farmer outfit releases first list of candidates for Punjab polls

Psychotropic substances of Rs 23.36 cr seized in Punjab

Psychotropic substances of Rs 23.36 cr seized in Punjab
After the Model Code of Conduct came into force in the state for the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections, enforcement teams have seized valuables worth Rs 23.8 crore in violation of code, besides confiscating unaccounted cash till January 12, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab S. Karuna Raju said on Thursday.

Psychotropic substances of Rs 23.36 cr seized in Punjab

Channi regrets PM's security breach during virtual meeting on Covid

Channi regrets PM's security breach during virtual meeting on Covid
Channi expressed regret while participating in a virtual meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi with Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors/Administrators of states and UTs to review the prevailing Covid situation as well as the ongoing vaccination drive.

Channi regrets PM's security breach during virtual meeting on Covid

People will choose next CM, says Sidhu

People will choose next CM, says Sidhu
Unveiling the first set of plans in his Punjab Model with focus on resurrection of Punjab, Sidhu, in the absence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Cabinet colleagues, told the media here: "Punjab Model is people's model, an effort to give a roadmap to return power to people."

People will choose next CM, says Sidhu

Alliance with Akali Dal in Punjab cost BJP heavily: Hardeep Puri

Alliance with Akali Dal in Punjab cost BJP heavily: Hardeep Puri
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that he "personally" feels that alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab had cost the BJP heavily.

Alliance with Akali Dal in Punjab cost BJP heavily: Hardeep Puri