Lok Sabha bypoll on May 10: As battle for Jalandhar seat heats up, a war of words erupts

Addressing media after canvassing for Karamjit Kaur, the Congress candidate for Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll slated for May 10, Sidhu said Kejriwal had promised that once voted to power, the AAP dispensation will recover Rs 54,000 crore from the sand mafia to fill the government coffers.

“Where is that money? In the Congress rule, the sand was available at Rs 3700 per trolley. The same is now being sold for Rs 15,000. They (AAP leadership) have sold themselves to contractors ,” said Sidhu.

The Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll was necessitated following the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January. The Congress has fielded his wife for the bye-election while the ruling AAP has nominated Sushil Rinku, a Congress turncoat.

Sidhu alleged that the AAP “sold lies” to come to power in Punjab. “Today, the people are feeling cheated,” he alleged.

Sidhu alleged the AAP government has not implemented its poll promise of providing Rs 1,000 per month to women of the state.

The AAP had claimed that it would wipe out the drug menace within a month of coming to power. But now Punjab is in a “sea of drugs”, said the cricketer-turned-politician who was released from the Patiala Central Jail on April 1 after being incarcerated for nearly 10 months in a 1988 road rage case.

Hitting out the ruling party, he said the AAP had promised to end liquor cartels. But now, the liquor syndicate in liquor has raised prices by 25 per cent, the former Congress MLA alleged.

“You are the patron and chief of this mafia. You are their (mafia) facilitator,” he alleged targeting CM Mann.

On the electricity issue, Sidhu said, “When you made electricity free (up to 300 units), did you tell people that you will mortgage power utility PSPCL (Punjab State Power Corporation Limited)? PSPCL owes Rs 20,000 crore to banks.”

Sidhu said, Mann used to say that all youth who had gone abroad would be brought back to Punjab and they will be given employment here. “He also had claimed that apart from our children, even foreigners will will come to work here in Punjab,” said Sidhu. Taking a jibe at Mann, he said, “CM sir, first call your children back to Punjab”.

He said cable mafia is ruling roost in state and alleged that five acres of land was given to cable mafia at throwaway prices in Amritsar.

“They are spending huge amounts of money on advertisements while people are reeling under the burden of taxes as surcharge being increased on petrol and other items,” he added.

Meanwhile, at a separate press conference, AAP leader Cheema dared Sidhu to name 10 achievements of the previous Congress government.

Calling Sidhu a “jhooth di dukan”, Cheema said, “If you were concerned about Punjab, then why did you remain silent when your colleagues in the previous government were looting Punjab? Why didn’t your raise your voice against the corruption and non-performance? Why did you stay silent on SC scholarship scam, post-matric scholarship scam, liquor mafia, sand mafia and transport mafia? Are you giving clean chit to Bharat Bhushan Ashu or to the people who had money counting machines at home?”.

Cheema said, before coming to power in Punjab in 2017, the Congress had promised ‘ghar ghar Naukri’, complete debt waiver for farmers, end of mafia rule and corruption, and justice in cases of sacrilege and police firing cases. “None of that was fulfilled. Capt Amarinder Singh’s and his cabinet were complete failures.

After Captain, Congress appointed Charanjit Channi was as CM but crores of rupees were recovered from the house of his nephew,” the AAP leader alleged.

The Finance Minister claimed that the AAP government has already given 28,000 jobs while 90 per cent households are getting zero electricity bills. “We paid Rs 20,200 crore in power subsidy to PSPCL and we’ll clear pending Rs 9,300 cr too. We introduced new policy and eradicated the liquor mafia. A historic increase of 41.41% in liquor revenue has been registered. We freed thousands of acres of illegally encroached land and opened 500-plus mohalla clinics in just one year. Education budget is up 17 per cent and Schools of Eminence are being established. Teachers are being sent abroad for quality training and the children of poor are getting quality education. We are giving ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to the families of martyrs and with One MLA – One Pension the wastage of taxpayers’ money has been stopped,” he added.