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Even as AAP candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku filed his nomination for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll here on Monday, the big day was marred by a brawl between supporters of Rinku and his ‘bete noire’ MLA Sheetal Angural who came to blows with each other injuring several of them.
The rival supporters were at each others’ throats, fiercely kicking and punching each other with many suffering injuries to their head and face. Though police were present there, they were a mute spectator.
Party sources said that while Angural is supporting his opponent, Rinku, because of his own compulsions, his supporters are in no mood to accept Rinku. Party leaders said that Angural’s supporters are not able to stomach the induction of Rinku in AAP. Supporters of Rinku and Angural have indulged in such fights earlier also.
Interestingly, all these happened right under the nose of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann who held a roadshow in support of Rinku before the filing of nomination papers. A large number of AAP workers and supporters had gathered and raised slogans in favour of the party candidate.
Rinku was accompanied by CM Mann and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema during the filing of nomination papers.
In the CM’s roadshow, Rinku, MLAs Sheetal Angural, Inderjit Kaur and Balkar Singh and other AAP leaders, including the recently inducted former BJP minister Mahinder Bhagat, were present.
Addressing a gathering during the roadshow, Mann appealed to the people not to vote for traditional parties and to elect a pro-people leader. He said, “Congress’s internal turmoil is an obstacle in the path of development. The Aam Aadmi Party gives opportunities to honest leaders. We know how to do development, how to build schools, hospitals and mohalla clinics, how to provide free electricity and how to give employment.”
Mann said that AAP won the Municipal Corporation elections in Delhi and now, it is ridding the UT of the garbage mountains as the party knows how to get work done.
Similarly, Punjab is governed by AAP, and when Rinku ‘becomes’ the MP from Jalandhar parliamentary constituency, more and more development works will be done in the city, the CM added.
Mann said that Jalandhar falls under a smart city scheme, but no development has been done here because traditional political parties and their leaders lack good intention.
The CM said the AAP government has started distributing crop loss compensation to farmers within 20 days of its announcement. “When I announced the compensation, the Opposition said that it was not possible to execute it within 20 days. But when we did it, they couldn’t believe it. We showed them the cheques, but now they are saying that the money hasn’t reached everyone.”
Mann asked the people to show patience. “The money will reach all the farmers who are facing financial loss due to the untimely rain and hailstorm that lashed the state recently. We’re like you and with you. We will keep taking pro-people decisions every day and a couple of more big things are on the way,” he said.
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal will campaign for Rinku in Jalandhar on April 20, Mann added. He appealed to people to make Rinku victorious in the by-election. During the roadshow, all the senior leaders were sitting in an open vehicle.
Meanwhile, wearing his typical comical expression, Mann took a dig at Congress and said that the Congressmen also boarded a bus when its candidate filed the nomination papers.
“In the bus all were sitting with faces opposite to each other, some were looking outside, some to the right or left. Thankfully the bus did not stop in between, or else many would have got down on the way before reaching the DC office,” said the CM while taking a jibe at the factionalism in the grand old party.
He said that Congress is completely divided into factions. “Don’t vote for it, otherwise it will stop development,” he added.
Mann was hours behind the schedule for the roadshow. He waved at people all along the route.
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