Unite or face another 2012 in 2017, Bajwa tells Cong cadre
Tuesday, 16/06/2015
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ARTICULATING FEARS Tries to allay farmers’ fear on free power, says party to continue with facility if it comes to power; Amarinder loyalists absent
BABA BAKALA: Sounding a word of caution to his party cadre, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday said they should pull up their socks and put a united face or the party may face another 2012like debacle in the assembly elections in 2017.
Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa (right) and other leaders during a meeting with party workers at Baba Bakala village near Amritsar on Monday.
“Tusi ekthe ho javo, nahi ta 2012 vala haal 2017 vich ve hoega phir. (You should unite now or else the Congress will suffer same humiliation in 2017 it suffered in the 2012 assembly polls),” the Punjab Congress chief said during the ‘chaupals’ (small meetings) he held at Butala and Sarli villages of the Baba Bakala (reserve) assembly constituency in Amritsar district.
The fear that infighting in the Congress may pave way for the third consecutive win of the SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab is worrying a section in the party which strongly wants Bajwa and his predecessor and Amritsar MP Capt Amarinder Singh to sink their differences and come together for the sake of the party.
“This fear is shared by people of Punjab who are desperately looking for a change in 2017,” said Bajwa when HT asked him about the appeals for unity he made during the ‘chaupals’.
CONGRESS HALQA IN-CHARGE ABSENT
Despite this all, no Congress leader present on the occasion bothered to invite Ranjit Singh Chajjalwadi, the Congress halqa in-charge from Baba Bakala, and an Amarinder loyalist.
“Chajjalwadi was aware of the meeting schedule but he deliberately chose to stay away,” said a local Congress leader.
In the absence of Chajjalwadi, Bajwa’s close confidant, Jasbir Singh Dimpa, a former MLA, took an active part in making the two meetings a success by ensuring a good turnout. Dimpa has considerable hold in the area as he had represented the Beas (now Baba Bakala) assembly segment when it was a general constituency.
Through the mass contact programme involving small meetings, the PPCC chief hopes to cover all 34 reserve assembly segments in the next three months. The idea is to interact with the people so as to get an insight into their problems and their demands, some of which will be incorporated in the party manifesto ahead of the 2017 assembly polls in Punjab.
“This will be the people’s manifesto prepared at the ground zero level,” said Bajwa while addressing the gathering at Butala.
APPREHENSIONS A OF FARMING COMMUNITY
Bajwa also spoke on the apprehensions among sections of the farming community that if the Congress returns to power, the free power facility to tubewells could be withdrawn.
“Yes, this is one thing farmers expressed at Butala and Sarli. I assured them that the Congress has no intention to burden the farmers by withdrawing the free power facility. The Akalis are indulging in such propaganda and we will effectively counter it,” said Bajwa.
On fears that the Congress may drop the ‘atta daal scheme’, when articulated by the Dalit community, Bajwa said the scheme will not only continue but the party will also improve the same. Many villagers articulated that the druglords who are connected with senior leaders of the SAD and the Congress should be punished no matter who is in the power.
“If voted to power, the Congress will put all druglords behind the bars. We will have special courts to put such people in jail. Their properties will be confiscated,” Bajwa said.
