145;Bhattal, Kaypee should have joined me146;

Declaring that the overwhelming response of the people in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls will put an end to all bickering in the state Congress...

Declaring that the overwhelming response of the people in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls will put an end to all bickering in the state Congress, former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh today said it was the duty of Congress Legislature Party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee PPCC chief Mohinder Singh Kaypee to join him in the mass contact program today.

Addressing a press conference, Amarinder alleged that efforts had been made to sabotage the programme, which was not his personnel one, but was aimed at garnering support for the party and senior leadership including Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

Amarinder said efforts were made to derail the programme, by saying that Youth Congress polls were due. But these, he said, were on December 7.

He added that it was then claimed that focus should be on Jammu and Kashmir polls, scheduled on December 24. 8220;I conveyed to Prithviraj Chavan that I cannot come to Delhi before December 12, in the light of the mass contact programme,8221; Amarinder said.

Choosing not to say much on queries relating to Dera Sacha Sauda , Amarinder said that dera support helped Congress gain in Rajasthan polls. He said it was for the dera to see which could govern better.

Answering another query, Amarinder said that Sukhbir was 8220;unconstitutionally8221; presiding over the meetings and was dictating terms. To another query on Students Organization of India SOI, the student wing of SAD B, Amarinder claimed 8220;SOI activists had been sent to places like Bihar and Bengal to learn booth-capturing8221;.

Amarinder hit out at SAD B for 8220;unleashing atrocities8221; on Congress workers. He alleged that 8220;all the persons responsible for 48 murders in the state due to atrocities were roaming free8221;.

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Under the given conditions, he said, he would seek 8216;disturbed area8217; status for Punjab.

Earlier during his speech, Amarinder hailed Congress performance in the Assembly polls in Delhi, Rajasthan and Mizoram. 8220;It is a wave for good governance,8221; he said, taking a dig at SAD B for failing to make any mark in Delhi polls.

He accused the state government policy of selling and mortgaging assets. Amarinder claimed that stamp duty, which was Rs 1,200 crore during his tenure as CM, had come down to Rs 300 crore due to the present government. Amarinder also accused Badals of monopolizing the transport and liquor business in the state.