Cong, Akalis in a new slugfest
Political conferences at the historic Maghi Mela (fair) of Muktsar, on Friday, witnessed a vitriolic exchange between Punjab’s main rival parties wherein the Congress led by former chief minister Amarinder Singh vowed to exact exemplary retribution when in power, while the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal renewed its rhetoric alleging discrimination by New Delhi.
Evidently delighted with the turnout at the Congress conference, Capt. Singh launched a direct attack on chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, promising to “bring the Badal’s to justice for their sins”.
Insisting he would neither be “vindictive nor vengeful” the Congress president promised nonetheless that he would act on every count of “corruption” by the CM and his son. Capt. Singh further promised to punish officials responsible for harassing Congress workers and innocent citizens.
Replying to chief minister Badal’s charge that he was threatening government officers, Capt. Singh said, “Why should I threaten them they are as much my officers as they are yours and they worked efficiently with me for five years. But those officers who have victimised my 30,000 Congress workers, I don’t nurse any sense of vendetta, I am saying simply that I will hang them upside down.”
The Akalis, meanwhile, once against trained their sights on the Congress leadership in Delhi alleging continuing discrimination against Punjab and its people. The obvious star of the “official” state government function at the Maghi Fair, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal also tried to revive memories of 1984 and insisted Punjab had been given a “raw deal” by the Centre in a mere one per cent of the Prime Minister’s national agricultural debt waiver.
Mr Badal said, “Amarinder and his cronies remain silent to all the injustice for fear of offending 10 Janpath.”
The deputy CM was almost equally offensive against his own cousin and rebel Akali leader Manpreet Badal who was ousted from both the SAD and the government some months ago.
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