Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday hit the road once again as he embarked on the second phase of his roadshow, reaching out to thousands of people in Patiala district with the promise to waive off farmer debts and a vow to protect the water of Punjab at all costs. Joined by wife and Congress MLA (Patiala Urban) Preneet Kaur, Captain Amarinder made several impromptu halts along the way as he kicked off his high-tech bus roadshow from Shambu Border in Ghanur amid much slogan shouting from the large crowds that had gathered there to welcome them. Seeing the massive crowds, Captain Amarinder expressed the confidence that the party would form the next government in Punjab with 2/3rds majority.Talking to media persons along the roadshow route, on both sides of which thousands of people waited to greet their leader with garlands and flower petals, Captain Amarinder made it clear that his government, once in power, will take over the liabilities of the farmers and pay their capital and interest.Referring to the demonetisation controversy, Captain Amarinder reiterated that while the objectives of the initiative were fine the implementation was totally unplanned, causing extremely hardships to the common people.
Describing SYL as a major election issue, Captain Amarinder said this region (Rajpura, Ghanaur and surrounding areas) was faced with a dire water crisis and the SYL canal could not be allowed to be built at any cost. Rejecting as an outright lie the Badals’ allegation that he had carried a silver tasla/kassi for the foundation laying ceremony of SYL, Captain Amarinder said he had carried a silver tasla only once – during the 1984 kar seva at the Golden Temple.Captain Amarinder questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on SYL, dismissing his statement on the Industry water treaty as political posturing ahead of the elections.Rejecting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) charges of a nexus between the Congress and the Akalis, Captain Amarinder said pointed out that he still had some cases pending against him in Ludhiana and Mohali, and added that AAP, in any case, was not an organization but a group of greedy perverts who were only interested in exploiting people for money and sex.Asked if the Congress could also consider a Dalit as deputy chief minister, in view of Arvind Kejriwal’s promise on the same, Captain Amarinder said the AAP leader was in the habit of telling lies, and as far as Congress was concerned, a decision on deputy chief ministership would be taken by the party high command at the time of government formation. The chief ministerial candidate would also be announced at the appropriate time, he added.
On allocation of tickets, the PPCC chief said the scrutiny committee will meet on November 29 and 30, followed by a meeting of the Congress Election Committee on December 3, to discuss the matter. He reiterated that winnability would be the sole criteria in candidate selection, and denied any major disputes in the party on ticket distribution.Asked about how strong the AAP candidate pitted against him was, Captain Amarinder asked, “Who is Dr. Balbir Singh? I don’t know about him.”To a question on the possibility of Navjot Singh Sidhu joining the Punjab Congress, Captain Amarinder said Sidhu was currently shooting in Mumbai and would be with the party once back.A large number of bikes and other vehicles joined the Captain’s convoy from the border, where Ghanaur Congress leader Madan Lal Jalapur received the party president. People across villages, as well as the Ghanaur market, welcomed Captain Amarinder warmly, presenting him with Siropas.