3 min readFatehgarh SahibDec 27, 2016 03:37 AM IST
First published on: Dec 27, 2016 at 03:37 AM IST
Addressing a Shaheedi conference, Badal asked people to “be wary of the false propaganda unleashed by Congress and AAP”.
WITH THE Punjab Assembly election round the corner, the three main political parties in the fray turned the historic Shaheedi Jor Mela into a political battlefield as they vied for the attention of thousands of devotees who attended the opening day of the event on Monday.
The Shaheedi Jor Mela is held every year at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib to pay homage to the martyrdom of Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, the youngest sons of the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
Among those who addressed the rallies were Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for SAD and Amarinder Singh for Congress. Bhagwant Mann reeled in the crowds for Aam Aadmi Party.
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Addressing a Shaheedi conference, Badal asked people to “be wary of the false propaganda unleashed by Congress and AAP”. He said if either Congress or AAP came to power, it would discontinue the pro-people schemes and subsidies. Listing his government’s initiatives, Badal said: “Punjab government has given so much that the only thing left for the government to do is to set up a tandoor and prepare rotis for the people.”
Taking a dig at the Captain, Sukhbir said the PPCC chief himself doesn’t know whether his high command would make him the CM. He also jeered at Amarinder’s campaign designed by consultant Prashant Kishor’s team, including Coffee with Captain, saying the Congress chief did not know that Punjabis drank lassi or tea, not coffee.
Then, calling AAP “topiwallahs”, Sukhbir said, “Their leader is Bhagwant Mann who goes drunk to a gurdwara in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib.” He exhorted Akali workers not to rest till they hoisted the party flag in Chandigarh for next 20 years of rule.
Around 200 metres away from the SAD conference, Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh condemned the spurt in sacrilege in the state last year and vowed to put the guilty behind bars. He said religious attacks would not be tolerated and those responsible would be punished, adding that such incidents underlined the lawlessness and communal polarisation into which Punjab had plunged during the Badal regime.
Making allegations linking minister Bikram Singh Majithia to the drug problem in the state, Amarinder appealed to people to vote for the Congress to save the state from Majithia and the Badals. He also questioned where did the Badals get money from for Sukhvilas and other personal projects and businesses.
In the Aam Aadmi Party corner, Mann said, “It is time for all atrocities to end. The youth of Punjab is under the influence of drugs. They are not being given employment. The government is giving subsidies to Adanis and Ambanis. But common people are committing suicide for small amounts.”
Criticising Congress for giving a clean chit to perpetrators of the 1984 riots and that the SYL issue was being used by both Congress and SAD for elections, senior AAP leader HS Phoolka said no steps have been taken to resolve the problem yet.
Addressing a Shaheedi conference, Badal asked people to “be wary of the false propaganda unleashed by Congress and AAP”.
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