Amarinder shows his clout, targets Badals
Tuesday, 07/04/2015
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CAPT IN ACTION Supported by about 25 Punjab Congress MLAs, ex-CM holds series of rallies; says won’t allow Uma Bharti to enter state over river waters issue addiction, land and sand mafia, and growing debt on the state.
Amarinder accused chief minister Parkash Singh Badal of mortgaging interests of the state for his personal gains. “Badal has forgotten farmers’ problems and meekly followed the BJP’s diktats by supporting the antifarmer land acquisition bill of the NDA regime,” the former CM said, questioning why Badal had maintained ‘criminal’ silence over the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI’s) decision to reduce the purchase of wheat by 50%.
On the river waters issue, Amarinder said Badal must be having some hidden deal with the BJP, otherwise Union water resources minister Uma Bharti would not have made claims of resolving the issue to give more water to Haryana. “I dare Bharti to discuss the issue and take any step against Punjab. We will not allow her to enter Punjab,” the Captain said.
Turning to local issues, Amarinder told the people here how the Akalis had ignored Dhuri for three years. “Only now have they woken up to make promises in view of the byelection,” he said, adding that these were all false promises.
The Captain said the time had come for the people to teach the Akali-BJP government a lesson. “Now the ball is in your court. If you want to punish the Badals for their misrule, then vote against them,” he said, adding that the Dhuri byelection would set the tone for the 2017 assembly elections and mark the beginning of the end of the Akali-BJP regime. “It will sound the death knell for the Akalis,” he declared.
Earlier, Amarinder entered Dhuri at the head of a long convoy of vehicles. The party leaders included about 28 MLAs and about 50 former MLAs and ministers. He held meetings at Meemsa, Ghanauri and Kanjli villages. Partap Bajwa’s brother Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa also shared the dais with Amarinder at a rally.
