Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh today warned the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and the revenue minister Bikram Majithia against the arm-twisting tactics against their political opponents, particularly the Congress workers. He said, the governments which resort to such methods do not last long.Addressing a well attended public meeting organized by the local MLA Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa here today, Capt Amarinder pointed out, the Congress workers were still being targeted and victimized with false cases. He told Sukhbir and Majithia, the governments do not last forever and once Congress comes to power they will have to run for their life as people will be after them. Nobody will be prepared to provide them shelter even, he remarked, saying they will have to seek shelter somewhere else outside Punjab.Warning the Akalis, particularly Sukhbir and Majithia against committing atrocities on the Congress workers, he said, the party will launch a “jail-bharo” movement in Punjab and fill all the jails in protest. “If they are so fond of putting Congressmen behind the bars we will flood the jails ourselves”, he asserted.If they (the Akalis) think that they can finish the Congress by these arm-twisting tactics they are mistaken, he said, while remarking, “rather the resolve of the Congress workers gets further strengthened when they are targeted and victimized”.The former Chief Minister said, before the elections, the Akalis had promised moon to people and cheated them voting into power. But, he pointed out, instead of delivering on those promises they have slapped punitive taxes on the people of Punjab which the Congress has been vigorously opposing.Lashing out at the government, Capt Amarinder pointed out, the Akalis have always been claiming themselves to be the guardians and custodians of the farmers’ interests. But the farmers have realized as how much they have to suffer under the Akali rule as their crops are never lifted on time and when these are lifted a cut is charged by the jathedars and the inspectors in the mandis.Speaking on the occasion, the Congress Legislative Party leader Sunil Jakhar said, the Akalis were always crying wolf over the alleged discrimination by the centre while they had got maximum grants from the government of India. He said, instead of utilizing these funds on welfare schemes these were being siphoned off and embezzled.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included PCC vice president Ashwani Sekhri, general secretary Fateh Jang Bajwa, district president Sukhjinder Randhawa, Aruna Chaudhary, Punjab Youth Congress president Vikram Chaudhary and others.