The Punjab Congress has lashed out at AAP leader Kanwar Sandhu for his shameless attempts to mislead the people with brazen lies against their party president Captain Amarinder Singh, and by making all kinds of false promises in blatant violation of the election Code of Conduct.
Even as they reacted strongly to Sandhu’s diatribe against the previous Congress government in the state, Punjab Congress leaders dismissed AAP leader Sanjay Singh’s challenge for Captain Amarinder to contest the coming election against Bhagwant Mann from Jalalabad, saying election was a serious business for them and comedians like Mann could not be taken seriously. However, they pointed out that Captain Amarinder had already made it clear that he was ready to fight against AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal from any seat he chose to contest. If Kejriwal has the guts he should accept Captain Amarinder’s challenge, said Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) leaders Rana Gurjit Singh, Kewal Singh Dhillon and Amrik Singh Dhillon, adding that Mann was a non-entity.
In a statement, the PPCC leaders came down heavily on Sandhu, describing him as a fraud and an imposter who, in his desperation to woo voters, was resorting to baseless and totally false allegations against Captain Amarinder, while throwing the Code of Conduct to the wind by announcing welfare measures which he had no intention of implementing.They urged the Election Commission to crack down heavily on Sandhu for violating the Code of Conduct. It may be noted that Samrala Congress candidate Amrik Singh Dhillon has already lodged a complaint against AAP for announcing welfare measures for poor.Sandhu was a known liar and opportunist who had shifted loyalties to AAP after taking umpteen favours from the Akalis, said the PPCC leaders, pointing out that he had got his son admitted on an NRI quota seat in SGPC-run Medical College and had failed to pay for his son’s education despite being served several notices for the same.The 'Golak Chor', as he had been dubbed by the media, was reported to have sought favours from the then SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, who was embroiled in a controversy over her daughter’s death, the PPCC leaders said, further pointing to the appointment of Sandhu’s son as a doctor in the state government hospital during the Akali regime. Not only this, Sandhu had even a got a plot allotted in the Medicity Chandigarh in an illegitimate manner, they said.Captain Amarinder had always worked for the uplift of the poor and the Dalits, unlike AAP and its leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, whose anti-Dalit face had been exposed by AAP’s own workers and supporters, the PPCC leaders said.
Kejriwal did not have a single Dalit or Sikh face in his cabinet in Delhi, where his party was in power, the Punjab Congress leaders observed, adding that the AAP chief’s sham promises could not divert public attention from the corruption and sex scandals in which many of his party leaders were embroiled.The PPCC leaders condemned the outright lies being resorted to by Sandhu against his government during 2002-2007. Contrary to what Sandhu was trying to project, Captain Amarinder’s government had not only generated and provided employment on a large scale but had launched several schemes for Dalits and other marginalized and poor sections of the society, they added.More than 20 lakh jobs were created and over 49,000 people given government jobs, in addition to employment for thousands of teachers, doctors and nurses, during the Congress regime, said the Punjab Congress leaders, adding that Rs. 390 lakh was disbursed as unemployment allowance to those registered with employment exchanges in the state.
Asking Sandhu to do his homework before making public statements, the Congress leaders further pointed out that Captain Amarinder’s government had set up a Social Security Fund of Rs.500 crore to provide for the development and welfare of SCs and other weaker sections of the society. Besides, a Rs-500 crore Social Security Fund was also set up to ensure regular and timely pensions/financial assistance to 1,10,324 beneficiaries (old-aged, widows, orphans and handicapped), they said, adding that a monthly financial assistance was also provided for the blind, deaf and dumb. These facts, said the Congress leaders, were on record, but Sandhu and his ilk were conveniently choosing to ignore them in their obsession to grab power in Punjab by hook or by crook.