Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll: In shift in campaign strategy, Cong showcases Karamjit’s education, targets woman voters

Warring appealed to women voters to vote for Karamjit saying she wants to carry forward her late husband’s legacy for the betterment of the people.

Addressing a public meeting, Warring said, “An ideal candidate for the Jalandhar bypoll, her (Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary) attachment with the people of the constituency further encourages her to work for the progress of the region and the empowerment and education of women”.

The PCC chief advocated the importance of education for the progress of society, and said the party’s candidate is not only highly educated but carries with her an impressive wealth of experience in education policy and academia.

Referring to the old African proverb “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation”, Warring said Chaudhary’s dedication towards education, commitment towards public service, and her zeal to work for women, especially the underprivileged, and contribute towards the augmentation of society make her the best choice.

Remembering Santokh Singh’s contributions towards the betterment of Jalandhar, Warring said, “I appeal to the residents to vote for a woman MP whose husband represented the constituency for the last nine years in Parliament, and discussed and debated on various issues for the well-being of the people of Jalandhar.”

He also targeted the ruling AAP government for not fulfilling its poll promise of giving Rs 1,000 per month to the women of the state — an issue that was also raised by Sidhu to target Sushil Rinku, the ruling party candidate. Rinku, a Congress leader, had joined the AAP earlier this month and was promptly given party ticket for Jalandhar bypoll.

“A month ago, Rinku used to tell women to demand the promised Rs 1,000 per month from the AAP leaders. Now that he is with the AAP, the women should ask him about the money that the party had promised in the run up to the last year’s Assembly elections but was yet to grant even after having completed more than year in power,” Sidhu said.

The former minister, who addressed several meetings in Jalandhar, said that that one side there is an “educated, credible candidate” of the Congress and on the other side there is a turncoat.

Sidhu also launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Delhi counterpart and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal terming them “behrupiyas” (impersonators).

“The CM who used to say that VIP culture will not be allowed, moves with a heavy security around him. In fact all the AAP leaders are now availing VVIP facilities,” he said while alleging that corruption has jumped manifold under the AAP rule.

He said that the condition of roads in Punjab is bad, law and order is at its worst, and murders are happening everyday for ransom. “People are being threatened in this election.

They are being intimidated. Kejriwal is openly speaking from the stage that if you vote for the Congress, no work will be done because in Punjab AAP is the ruling party,” said Sidhu.
He said that Mann was not going to his residence as protesting teachers are waiting for him there. Employees are protesting against the government all over Punjab.

Sidhu also brought in the language issue in the poll discourse saying that a “Hindi speaking person” (Kejriwal) used to say that he will generate Rs 34,000 crore by wiping out sand mining mafia and with that he will give Rs 1,000 per month to every woman in state. “In whose pocket has that Rs 34,000 crore gone now,” Sidhu asked, adding mafia was ruling Punbjab in connivance with the AAP government.

Pointing to the large number of women attending the Congress meetings, Sidhu said the party’s victory is certain now.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Congress MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary accused the AAP dispensation of pursuing “anti-Dalit policies” during its one-year tenure.

He claimed that the AAP government likes to “flaunt” Dr B R Ambedkar’s photos in government offices but has stopped the work on the Ambedkar Museum at the IK Gujral Punjab Technical University in Jalandhar.

The legislator said former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi had laid the foundation stone of the Rs 150 crore-memorial to perpetuate the life, works and philosophy of Dr B R Ambedkar. But the Bhagwant Mann government “failed” to complete what would have acted as a beacon to highlight the great scholar and social reformer’s glorious legacy, he alleged.