Next general elections crucial for country: Amarinder
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 May, 2022 10:13 AM
Chandigarh, May 3 (IANS) Former Punjab Chief Minister and President of Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), Amarinder Singh, said on Tuesday that the 2024 general elections will be crucial for the country as there is a need for a stable and strong government.
Speaking at a meeting of the PLC candidates who contested the recent Assembly elections in Punjab, he said given the geopolitical situation previaling in the world in view of the Russia-Ukraine war, the country needs a stable, mature and strong leadership, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is providing.
State BJP General Secretary Subhash Sharma also attended the meeting.
Amarinder Singh also said that the PLC and the BJP will jointly fight the municipal corporations elections in Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar and Jalandhar.
The meeting took stock of the prevailing situation in the state and also reviewed the performance of the party candidates in the last Assembly elections.
Amarinder Singh said that while the people of Punjab voted overwhelmingly for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with great expectations, there is already a strong sense of disillusionment against the state government.
The former Chief Minister claimed that not only has the AAP government backed out on several promises and commitments, it is also hurting the pride of Punjabis by usurping their power and rights.
He said Punjabis would never tolerate an outsider like Arvind Kejriwal running the government from Delhi, pointing out how Kejriwal is conducting meetings of Punjab officials in Delhi and issuing commands to them.
It is unconstitutional and unacceptable, he said.
Addressing the meeting, Subhash Sharma said although the BJP-PLC alliance could not win many seats, a strong foundation has already been laid.
He said while the immediate focus will be on the municipal elections which are due within less than a year from now, the alliance will be a formidable force in the 2024 general elections.
A day earlier, Sonia Gandhi asked party chiefs Sidhu in Punjab, Ganesh Godiyal in Uttarakhand, Ajay Kumar Lallu in Uttar Pradesh, Girish Chodankar in Goa and Nameirakpam Loken Singh in Manipur to resign. Sidhu, once a Chief Minister aspirant, faced defeat from his stronghold Amritsar (East) seat.
Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, representing the family members, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that on March 10, a protected witness in the case had been attacked and the state government did not file an appeal challenging the bail granted to Misra in the case.
The SAD also announced the expulsion of Kalka from the primary membership of the party, besides dissolving the party's Delhi unit. It also announced the formation of a five-member ad hoc committee headed by veteran leader Avtar Singh Hit, and comprising Harinder Singh Kaypee, Bhupinder Singh Anand, Gurdev Singh Bhola, and Ravinder Singh Khurana.
In December last year, the Supreme Court had said it expects a fair investigation and investigating agencies should be neutral, as it asked Delhi Police to conclude the probe, by December 15, in a case against Singh.
Amid a call for leadership change in the party, Congress General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has called a meeting of party leaders on Tuesday to find out the reasons for the defeat. The Congress could only get just over 2 per cent votes and two seats in the Uttar Pradesh polls.
The plea argued that the high court granted bail without considering the heinous nature of the crime and also in the backdrop of overwhelming evidence against the accused in the charge sheet. The plea further argued that there is likelihood of the accused tampering with the witnesses and causing obstruction in justice.
