SAD-BJP marriage of convenience: Cong
Thursday, 14/08/2014
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TALWANDI SABO: Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday dubbed the SADBJP alliance as “opportunistic, unprincipled and a marriage of convenience”, which had a record of contradictions with the two parties working at cross-purposes, repeatedly and publicly.
Bajwa said the extent to which the relations between the alliance partners had deteriorated could be seen from the Punjab Bachao Morcha launched by former BJP minister Satpal Gosain and former improvement trust chairman MM Vyas in Ludhiana to take up the issues concerning industrialists, while holding the Badal government’s “apathy” responsible for the “current mess”.
Bajwa referred to the “direct attack” on the government by one of the members of the Badal cabinet, local bodies minister Anil Joshi, who had been vociferously protesting against some of the decisions of the government.
“Things have come to such a pass that a section of the party leaders in the state has veered around to the view that the BJP ministers should come out of the government rather than facing humiliation and embarrassment and extend support from outside, a situation under which the BJP would have more say in decisionmaking,” he said.
Bajwa said the setting up of the six-member panel by the alliance to sort out the irritants showed the rot that had set in and it was to be seen as to how long the BJP would face the disgrace of continuing in the government, adding that no self-respecting party could work under such humiliating conditions.
Former Punjab chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said it would not allow the SAD to change the name of the Giani Zail Singh Technical University, Bathinda. “I have come to know that the state government has started the process of changing the name of the university. We will not allow it at any cost. Zail Singh was a great leader of the nation and we will not let Badals insult him,” said Bhattal, while addressing a press conference.
