Addressing large election meetings in the Phillaur assembly constituency on Thursday, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi appealed to the people to vote for Congress candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary as a tribute to the deceased member of parliament Santokh Singh Chaudhary.
He urged the Phillaur voters to not waste their votes by voting for the AAP, BJP, or Akalis and emphasized the importance of voting in memory of Santokh Singh Chaudhary, who dedicated his life to public service and tirelessly worked to improve the lives of Jalandhar's residents.
Criticising the performance of the Bhagwant Mann government, Charanjit Channi said it had failed in every aspect, even in comparison to the three months’ tenure of his own government.
He alleged that instead of focusing on improving the lives of Punjabis, the current government was misusing the power to harass opposition leaders, including himself.
Terming the AAP government anti-Dalit and anti-poor, Channi said that it refused to provide the benefit of reservation to the lawyers belonging to the scheduled caste community for vacancies in the advocate general’s office.
He said Arvind Kejriwal’s promise of a scheduled caste deputy chief minister also was not fulfilled, even as he campaigns in Jalandhar for the by election. The poor people were being deprived of even their ration dues under the public distribution system by the Bhagwant Mann government, he added.
Channi also asked the women present at the meetings if they had received the 1000 rupees, which was a big campaign promise of the Aam Aadmi Party in the last assembly elections.
Channi said Congress candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary is known for her commitment to public service and dedication to carrying on the legacy of Chaudhary Santokh Singh.
The former CM expressed his confidence in her ability to serve the people of Jalandhar with the same passion and commitment that Chaudhary Santokh Singh showed throughout his life.
In a moving speech, Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary spoke about the emotional toll of running for office in the wake of her husband's passing. Despite the pain she still feels, she emphasized it was her duty to serve the people of Jalandhar.
"My husband dedicated his life to the people of Jalandhar constituency, and I will do everything in my power to continue that work," she said.Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary said, “my father called Phillaur his “Karma Bhoomi”, he lived here, and he left us for the heavenly abode on this very land.
For him, Punjab, especially Jalandhar and its people were his family and he dedicated his life to its development. I know that my mother has big shoes to fill, but she will continue the works started by him.”
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, former MLAs Inderbir Singh Bolaria, Sukhpal Singh Bhullar and Gurbinder Singh Atwal, Shveta Raj Chaudhary, Tarsem Singh Sialka, Nachhatar Singh Kalsi, Zila Parishad members Surjit Singh Lallian and Gurpreet Kaur, Phillaur municipal council president Mahinder Ram Chumber, Goraya municipal president Kamaldeep Singh Bittu, Phillaur block president Davinder Singh Lasara, Rurka Kalan block president Rakesh Duggal, municipal councillors, sarpanches and panches were among those present in the meetings.