Taking Sunil Jakhar’s Gurdaspur campaign to a new level, Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa joined the Congress candidate’s electioneering on Monday with fulsome praise for his nomination and a promise to campaign aggressively for him in all the nine Gurdaspur assembly segments.
Speaking to media at the residence of Qadian MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa, Partap Bajwa said he would be supporting Jakhar’s campaign in all the nine assembly segments that fall under the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency.Later in the day, addressing a workers meeting at village Tugalwal Ground, Qadian, Bajwa called upon the the people to vote for Congress. Recalling the close ties between his own father and Jakhar’s father Balram Jakhar, Partap Bajwa said Sunil Jakhar is like a brother to him and was the ideal candidate to take up all the issues of the people of the border belt in Parliament. He termed the Sucha Singh Langah episode as extremely shameful and demanded stringent action against the former Akali minister.
Lambasting the Akalis, Jakhar said though they claimed to be Faqr-E-Quam, they actually sold off Punjab’s interests for their personal gains. He referred to the Rs 32000 cr food grain scam during the Akali regime and vowed to bring back every paisa of it. It was former PM Dr Manmohan Singh who looked after the interests of Punjab and was the real Faqr-E-Quam, whereas Capt Amarinder Singh is Punjab Da Sher, said Jakhar, declaring that the Congress government will take account of all the government funds misused by the Akalis and bring the culprits to book. The PPCC president recalled that as Lok Sabha MP, Partap Bajwa got 400 Kms of roads constructed in Gurdaspur.Later, addressing worker meetings in Qadian, Jakhar charged BJP candidate Sarwan Salaria with giving misleading statements on GST and other issues. Contrary to what Salaria was projecting GST had not benefited anyone so far, he said, challenging his opponent to engage in a debate with him on all issues.Jakhar suggested that Salaria should sit with me in a College or University and debate on youth issues, education and employment so that the youth could judge for themselves which was the best political party to rule the state. Referring to atrocities against Dalits during the Akali regime, Jakhar recalled that he had raised his voice against such incidents all through. He referred to the 2015 attack in which a Dalit youth’s limbs were chopped off and he had later died in hospital and pointed out that he (Jakhar) had raised his voice over the incident. This was not an isolated instance of such kind, Jakhar added.
Jakhar said the Capt Amarinder government was ensuring that every elderly person gets his old age pension and every family eligible for Blue Cards gets their due irrespective of their political allegiance unlike under the Akali rule when only their supporters got these cards.The PPCC president came down heavily on the price rise under the Modi government, pointing out that the LPG cylinder that used to cost Rs 400 under the UPA government now costs Rs 744. Ridiculing Salaria over his comment that if someone purchases a car worth Rs 10 lakh Rs 100 per litre of fuel would make no difference, Jakhar said majority of the people in this country were poor and could not afford to buy a car for Rs 10 lakh. Even the youth buy motorbikes on installments, he said, adding that Salaria’s statement suggested the price of petrol would go up further.A vote for Salaria would give a misleading message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that people were happy with the central government’s policies, said Jakhar, exhorting the people to cast their vote judiciously. Earlier, addressing a meeting organized by United Christian Front in Gurdaspur, Jakhar said the minorities needed political empowerment, which only the Congress could provide them. Within three and a half years, the true colours of the BJP and Modi had been exposed, he said, adding that it was time to teach them a lesson.AICC Secretary Harish Chaudhary, MLA Fateh Jung Bajwa, MLA Balwinder Singh Laddi and MLA Darshan Singh Brar were present at the meetings.