Famous cricketer and former captain of the Indian cricket team Bishen Singh Bedi today announced his support for Capt Amarinder Singh, the Congress candidate from Amritsar. Bedi, who arrived here alongwith a group of his supporters, said, Capt Amarinder was the best leader to represent Amritsar.Addressing a press conference here today in presence of Capt Amarinder along with his colleagues Ashok Arora and Akash Lal, Bedi said, Capt Amarinder is the greatest son of the soil and it will be the privilege for the people of Amritsar to have them represent in the parliament.“I as a Punjabi owe and express him my gratitude to having agreed to contest from here”, he said, adding, “I have come to perform the ardas to the Almighty that may he win and provide the best leadership and representation to the people of Amritsar”.The former captain of the national cricketing team was categorical in stating that the BJP candidate Arun Jaitley was no match to the charisma of Capt Amarinder.
He pointed out, Jaitley had only practised boardroom politics while Capt Amarinder had extensive experience lasting for about five decades. “I remember him being the Chief Minister of Punjab for five years which were best years for the state”, he said.Bedi’s associate, Ashok Arora, with whom he has formed an NGO working for transparency, said that Arun Jaitley’s record was not at all clean. He pointed out, he had messed up the affairs of the Delhi District Cricket Association whose working is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Investigation Cell. “A man who could not efficiently manage a small cricketing club has no right to represent the people of a holy and historic city like Amritsar”, Arora remarked.He said, for a long time Jaitley had established monopoly over the DDCA and was winning the election by managing the proxy votes. He said, when the tide started turning against him he opted out and got one of his close associates elected. He disclosed that the Supreme Court of India had passed serious strictures against the DDCA functioning under Jaitley and also questioned the rationale of non-cricketing people controlling the cricketing body.
Arora asked Jaitely as why he chose not to contest from Delhi. Referring to Jaitley’s claims of being a Punjabi he remarked, “West Delhi constituency is a Punjabi dominated why he did not opt for that constituency?” It was simply because he did not have the moral courage to face the people of Delhi as they knew him very well and would have exposed him there, he added.Capt Amarinder, supplemented Arora’s charges, asking Jaitley to explain the exponential multiplication of his wealth between 2006 and 2012 from Rs 26 crores to Rs 158 crores. He pointed out, he had already stopped practising law in 2009 and his only source of income was his salary as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. “I have asked him several times but I am yet to get an answer from him”, he said.