Capt attends two Congress functions in same vicinity

A senior Congress leader said local party leaders had advised both Lucky and Kataria to hold a joint meeting,but they did not agree. Their rivalry goes back to the last assembly election when Lucky was allotted the party ticket over Kataria. The situation even forced Congress leader Ashok Nanowal,during his speech at Lucky’s event,to warn his colleagues that the factionalism will make it difficult for the party to win even a few seats in the coming Lok Sabha elections. To make matters worse,some speakers expressed unhappiness that Ananpur Sahib MP Ravneet Singh Bittu does not visit this part of his constituency.

Amarinder,however,disagreed with the view that there were differences within the Punjab Congress leadership. The former chief minister said everybody was working,under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi,to strengthen the party. He asserted that his job was to ensure that the party won all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. On Bajwa’s alleged questionable land deals,Amarinder said Bajwa had already stated that he had all valid documents and,therefore, there was no need to make it an issue.

Prominent among those present on the occasion included PCC vice president and MLA Charanjit Singh Channi,Nawashahar MLA Gur Iqbal Kaur,Nawan Shahar district Congress president Satbir Singh,district Youth Congress president Sukhwinder Whisky,and PCC vice-president Rana KP Singh.

‘Badals only meet the PM to present him with bouquets’

Stating that the Badals lacked the vision to ensure development in the state,former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday termed Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s meetings with industry leaders as ‘investment tourism’. The Congress leader added that at best,Sukhbir was getting himself photographed with “so-called prospective investors,while actually getting nothing for the state”.

Capt Amarinder further said that Chief Minister Parkash Badal did nothing except talk of sangat darshans and federalism apart from accusing the Centre of step-motherly treatment. “Both father and son have never gone to the Centre with a concrete plan for the development of the state. They only meet the Prime Minister to present him with bouquets,” Amarinder added. The Congress leader,who was talking to reporters during a visit to Balachaur constituency,urged Sukhbir to spell out what investment was coming to Punjab. “The deputy chief minister should also tell the people about investment that has been brought to the state in the last seven years of SAD rule. His government has only made those who had committed to invest,during the Congress tenure,run away,” he said. Referring to power plants being set up in the state,Amarinder doubted whether these will in any way benefit Punjab. “If they get a better price,they are free to sell power outside,” he said,and wondered what was the need for the government to give them thousands of acres of land after forcibly acquiring it from “unwilling and helpless farmers”.