Chandigarh, Feb 18 (IANS) Ahead of polling for the Assembly elections, five-time Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal on Friday said the party is poised for a triumphant return.
"Great finish by the SAD-BSP," said the 94-year-old Badal, who is in fray from Lambi and aiming for the sixth consecutive win.
"The results will surprise many armchair analysts. We knew that the Congress campaign was a disaster from the start and AAP claims were a social media bubble and a repeat of 2017 false bravado.
"The AAP's anti-Punjab and anti-farmers stance in the Supreme Court has killed them. We kept our ears to the ground, our shoulder on the wheel and worked hard at grassroots. We have peaked at the right time. We are the only party smiling at the end of the campaign. We are poised for a triumphant return," Badal added.
Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday hailed the victory of his party in the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections as "a forceful referendum of the Khalsa Panth in favour of the panthic identity and religious commitment of the party".
Ranjit Singh, a former follower of Ram Rahim, was shot dead by four assailants on July 10, 2002, in Kurukshetra after he allegedly "raised his voice" against the self-styled godman, who is currently lodged at the high-security Sunaria jail in Rohtak, 250 kms from state capital Chandigarh.
Bharatiya Janata Party chief J P Nadda on Tuesday asked the Congress national leadership to clarify their stand on whether they support the remarks on Kashmir and Pakistan made by party leaders in Punjab. Nadda said that the silence of the Congress leadership will be seen as being implicit to such objectionable remarks.
The farmers union leaders had earlier pointed out that Punjab had failed to hike sugarcane SAP in proportion to Haryana over this period, causing fiscal losses to them.
The Punjab Congress leaders who have distanced themselves from the so-called festering revolt in the party are: Kuldeep Vaid, Dalvir Singh Goldie, Santokh Singh, Angad Singh, Raja Warring and Gurkirat Singh Kotli, all MLAs, and Bhalaipur Ajit Singh Mofar, a former MLA.
Gurbachan Singh (55) was a relieved man after he welcomed his three sons at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here. They were among the 78 Afghan- Indians who were evacuated from Kabul to Tajikistan on Monday and to Delhi on Tuesday afternoon.
