Rahul insulted 'common man' by making Channi as CM candidate, says Amarinder

In a hard-hitting attack on the blatant attempt by these parties to polarize the harmonious Punjab society, the former chief minister said the SAD had started the divisive campaign by announcing a Dalit deputy CM if elected to power, triggering a mad race to follow suit.

Patiala:Lambasting the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the Akalis for sowing the seeds of caste and religious dissension in the state, Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said the move would backfire on these parties, who were compromising the peace and security of the border state to further their narrow political interests.

In a hard-hitting attack on the blatant attempt by these parties to polarize the harmonious Punjab society, the former chief minister said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had started the divisive campaign by announcing a Dalit deputy CM if elected to power, triggering a mad race to follow suit. The Congress, which had fallen unwittingly for the Akali ploy, will pay for its mistake in announcing its CM face on caste lines, he warned.

“Have these parties ever thought about the consequences such divisiveness could have on a border state like ours,” asked Captain Amarinder, adding that none of these parties will be able to reap the benefit of their separatist policies?

It will be the NDA alliance that will form the government in the state, he asserted confidently, adding that the PLC-BJP-SAD Sanyukt coalition will consolidate the votes lost by these parties in the coming days.m Interacting with media persons after a public meeting in Sanjay Colony, Patiala, the PLC chief termed as unfortunate the fact that the Punjab polity was currently revolving around casteist and religious narratives. He recalled how caste/religion was never an issue during his childhood days, but with these parties playing the caste card, Punjab was, for the first time, getting divided into such divisive lines.

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In any case, Channi’s anointment as a chief ministerial candidate by Rahul Gandhi amounted to sheer insult for 'aam aadmi’ (the common man), considering the crores of sand mafia money seized from his kin, said the former chief minister.

Promising continuation of the development saga he had initiated in Patiala during his chief ministerial tenure, Captain Amarinder stressed that the development of the region and the state was linked with a strong Centre-State alliance, which his party was offering in coalition with the BJP and SAD (Sanyukt). The Prime Minister had planned to announce Rs 43,000 crore worth of development projects at the Faridkot rally which the Channi led government damaged by allowing the security breach, he added.

“The Prime Minister had personally told me that our alliance will transform Punjab for the better,” he said, adding that the NDA can provide a strong government necessary for the development and security of the state.

He pointed out that during his tenure, a whopping Rs 1800 crore was spent on Patiala’s development projects, including reconstruction of badhi and chhoti nadi, canal-based water supply, Sanuri Adda garbage dump removal, up-gradation of three government hospitals, repair of roads, laying down of sewerage lines, parks, etc. Ownership rights were given to those in possession of homes in Lal Dora areas under the Basera Scheme by his government, he pointed out, adding that the “change is there for all to see.”