AAP has no base, contest with Akalis: Amarinder
Tuesday, 01/03/2016
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/aap-has-no-base-contest-with-akalis-amarinder/202986.html
Patiala : Ruling out a triangular contest in Punjab, PPCC president Capt Amarinder Singh today said since the Congress and the Akali Dal had an established base in the state, the 2017 elections would be a direct contest between the two, although the Aam Admi Party might dent their vote bank.
Terming Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal “a liar like Parkash Singh Badal”, the PPCC chief said both leaders were out to destroy Punjab. The so-called AAP wave was a mere imagination of a few minds, he said. “AAP will need more time to establish its base in Patiala as compared to the Congress and the Akali Dal who have cadres at the grass-roots level as well as the top level. AAP is a new party which is yet to establish its cadre,” he said.
In his recent speeches, Amarinder had targetted the Akalis claiming that “people have lost faith in them and in one year their political career will be over”. His remark that the 2017 contest would be only between the Congress and the SAD left many amused.
Kejriwal’s claim that he knew more about Punjab than him (Amarinder) was a farce, he alleged. “Instead he should clarify his position on the water dispute between Punjab and Haryana,” he said.
He alleged that the Kejriwal government in Delhi was wasting lakhs of rupees in Delhi to woo Punjab residents. “The budget for public relations during the tenure of Congress CM Sheila Dikshit was roughly Rs25 crore which has reached Rs526 crore during Kejriwal’s tenure,” he said.
At a function at the New Moti Bagh palace to welcome Kuldeep Singh Nassupur, an SGPC member, to the Congress fold, the PCC president said he would not allow Badal to get away with the Bargari sacrilege case. “First they plotted the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib and then fired at innocent people. I will ensure that he does not get away it,” he alleged.
Amarinder, meanwhile, lashed out at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for raising fingers at Congress workers over the attack. "The Congress has nothing to do with the attack. Beware of linking the Congress with the Akalis," he told Kejriwal.
