Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday thanked the legal fraternity in Patiala for supporting him in his fight against the fascist Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leader Arvind Kejriwal, who had been hobnobbing with the KCF, which was suspected to be behindTuesday night’s bomb blast and firing in Bathinda district.Addressing a meeting of the District Bar Association, Patiala, which has extended support to the Congress in the Punjab assembly polls, Captain Amarinder said the support of all sections of the society was necessary to keep AAP, which its dangerous mix of extreme left and extreme right, out of Punjab. Fascist and extremist forces begin to rise when politicians start resorting to such dangerous ideological mixes, he warned.
There was place for ambition but not for fascism in Punjab, which had already cost it more than 35000 innocent lives during the dark days of terrorism, said the PPCC president, adding that Tuesday’s nights violence was an indication of the situation worsening if extremist forces remain unchecked in the days to come. There were anti-India forces waiting across the border, ready to jump to such opportunities, to revive terrorism in the country, Captain Amarinder warned.No doubt Punjab wanted and needed change, but the people need to think what kind of change they are looking for, he said. The fight in Punjab was not just with the Akalis but, more importantly, with AAP, who, as outsiders to the state, had no interest in its welfare, said Captain Amarinder. He once again questioned Kejriwal’s stay in the house of a KCF commando, saying this was a dangerous precedent, especially in view of the bombing in Maur, which had left three dead and many injured, and which, as per indications, seemed to be the handiwork of KCF.
Captain Amarinder lamented the state of affairs in Punjab, where industry had collapsed completely, and government assets had been mortgaged by the Badal-led Akali government to pay salaries. This was no way to run a government, he said, adding that there was palpable anger among the people against the Badals and their henchmen (halqa in-charges).
The Congress chief ministerial candidate announced a series of welfare initiatives for the lawyers, notable among them being a chamber for every advocate, underground parking in the court complex, Rs. 2500 stipend for new lawyers, and medical & accident insurance for lawyers with 50% premium to be contributed by the government, once the Congress comes to power Present at the meeting were Congress Patiala Rural candidate Brahm Mahindra, Bar
Association president Bikramjit Bhullar, secretary Sanjay Khanna, vice president Avneet Billinq and a large number of advocates, who expressed their gratitude to Captain Amarinder for all that he had done for their fraternity during his previous tenure as chief minister.
Sanjay Khanna said Captain Amarinder had sacrificed for Punjab not once but several times, the last instance being of his resignation over the SYL issue. He recalled the former chief minister’s contribution to the legal fraternity, pointing out that Captain Amarinder had brought to Punjab the international level Rajiv Gandhi National Law University and had granted Rs. 2.5 crores for the Yadvindra Law Complex.Advocate Bikram Singh described Captain Amarinder as a national level leader, as manifest in his thumping victory in the Amrtisar Lok Sabha election, where he defeated BJP’s Arun Jaitley.Advocate Anil Puri urged Captain Amarinder not to make this his last election as the state and its people needed his leadership for a long time.