Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has hailed the Municipal Corporation, Nagar Panchayat & Municipal Committee poll results as a clear vindication of the Congress policies and a resounding defeat of the Opposition’s deceitful propaganda.The Chief Minister congratulated the people of Punjab for not succumbing to the pressure tactics of the Opposition, which had tried hard to derail the free and democratic poll process with its cheap gimmickry and provocative acts. Citing reports of Akali workers threatening voters to stay at home and not come out to cast their ballots, Captain Amarinder said the SAD-BJP combine, faced with imminent defeat, had stooped to historic lows in a desperate bid to wrest these polls. The Opposition had used all possible tactics – from open threats to misleading statements and rumour mongering – to intimidate the voters, but failed miserably, said the Chief Minister, adding that the people of Punjab had meted out a befitting punishment to them for all their misdemeanours.Citing the high voter turnout, Captain Amarinder said the people of Punjab had once again shown their political maturity and courage in fighting the nefarious designs of the SAD-BJP combine and AAP, both of which had been completely wiped into oblivion from the electoral landscape of the state.
The people had not forgotten what the Akalis had done for 10 years and had responded by voting them out of power in the Assembly elections and now handing them a crushing defeat in the local bodies’ elections, said the Chief Minister. He came down heavily on the feudal Akali practice of holding Sangat Darshans, which had kept development out of the state, he said, adding that the people had vented their anger against them once again in these elections.As far as AAP was concerned, it had come to Punjab like a summer storm but had been completely decimated, with no apparent hope of revival, Captain Amarinder said.The Chief Minister, while thanking the people for their overwhelming support, said the high voter turnout showed that the voters remained steadfast in their loyalty to the Congress and were no longer willing to be intimidated by political `goondas’, out to obstruct the process of free and fai polls. The huge turnout, he added, was also an endorsement of the fact that the Congress government had successfully upheld the democratic traditions, which were the cornerstone of the party’s philosophy and a personal commitment he had made to the people of Punjab.
The Opposition’s desperate efforts to undermine the government’s efforts to ensure a free and fair poll environment were a sign of their growing frustration over their repeated failure to wrest power from the Congress at any level, said Captain Amarinder.The sweeping victory for the Congress in the local bodies’ elections, which many political pundits and even the media had described as a litmust test for the party, clearly showed that the government was on the right track and the people were more than satisfied with its achievements of the past nine months, the Chief Minister added.