Capt warns to crack whip, Cong once again at war with its own
REBEL TROUBLE Party woes selfinflicted, rebels say false surveys, loyalty to leaders decided tickets
CHANDIGARH: It is a poll ritual. All the 1,600-odd Congress ticket applicants had signed a ‘loyalty’ pledge to accept the official candidate announced by the party and not unfurl a banner of revolt.
In 2017 elections too, the Congress is battling more of its same old woes. After a delayed distribution of tickets, the Congress is once again at war with its own as withdrawal of nominations ends on Saturday.
In a remake of 2012 elections, when Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh had inadvertently announced a “qatal-e-aam” (massacre) of rebels at a rally, Capt on Friday again issued an ultimatum to party rebels to “toe the party line or face expulsion from the party for life”.
Before the stick, Amarinder had dangled the carrot — by promising to accommodate in key positions those who withdrew from the fray in support of the party nominees, after the Congress came to power.
But with many of them still defiant and the party worried by unconfirmed reports of deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal again propping Congress rebels with “funds”, Amarinder said in a statement on Friday that he and general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs Asha Kumari have successfully quashed rebellion in most of the 20-odd constituencies where there have been reports of rebel trouble. The unofficial list has nearly 29 rebels, some of them with potential to cause major damage.
LOYALTY MATTERS?
But the bushfires are far from over. And party insiders believe much of the Congress woes are self-inflicted. “Banga MLA Tarlochan Soondh and Gurbinder Singh Atwal were denied tickets not owing to surveys but for being close to Amarinder’s known baiter, Rajya Sabha MP Shamsher Singh Dullo. Both are now contesting as rebels from Banga and Nakodar, respectively, and will dent party’s prospects there,” party sources said.
Party spokesperson Nimisha Mehta denied she has agreed to withdraw from the race from Garhshankar seat. “Asha called me up on Friday asking me to withdraw. I challenge her to show me the surveys that show Luv Kumar Goldy as a winner from this seat. It was she who played favourites in the ticket game,” Nimisha said.
Some Congress MLAs also question if surveys decided the candidates of Ludhiana South and Sunam seats. “The surveys were just an excuse to adjust loyalists. And while Amarinder wanted enough of his own to ensure he can be the CM, other MPs and screening committee members too have served their own interests. Surveys and ‘one family, one ticket’ rule were used as elimination round for others,” a senior MLA said.
PAST REBELS WHO GOT LUCKY
Though the Congress has loyalty affidavits, if you rebel, you stand a greater chance of being rewarded with a ticket in the next election.
Past rebels who lost elections but dented the party prospects, such as Sukhjinder Singh ‘Lalli’ Majithia, Madan Lal Jalalpur and Deepinder Dhillon, have been allotted tickets this time. So has been Rajnish Kumar ‘Babbi’, who won as a rebel from Mukerian.
Badals’ interests in conflict with state exchequer: Sidhu
CHANDIGARH: Cricketer-turnedpolitician Navjot Singh Sidhu kick-started his poll campaign from Chandigarh with the bashing of the Badals. He accused the state’s first family of “looting” Punjab in excise collection, tourism and transport sectors during SAD-BJP’s 10-years rule.
“The Badal family’s intention was to become richer with people’s money. Punjab has suffered a lot due to the never-ending greed of the Badal family, which has a direct conflict of interest with the state exchequer,” he said.
Sidhu, who addressed the media here in the presence of Congress in-charge for Punjab affairs Asha Kumari on Friday, will fight as a Congress candidate from Amritsar East constituency for the February 4 elections.
Comparing the excise collection figures of Punjab and Tamil Nadu, he said Punjab has 12,500 liquor vends and the annual revenue collection from these stands at ₹5,610 crore as against Tamil Nadu’s ₹26,188 crore from its 6,323 vends. “Punjab has the highest per capita alcohol consumption. This trade has been monopolised by the Badal family for the last 10 years. Indirectly, every bottle in Punjab is sold by the Badals,” Sidhu said.
He said due to poor implementation of policies during the 10-year rule of the Akali-BJP government, Punjab lost ₹1.5-lakh crore. “Had this money used, the state could have been free of debts, which rose from ₹44,000 crore to ₹3-lakh crore in 10 years,” he said.
He said government-run hotels in Punjab have been closed and put on sale on the excuse that they were loss-making ventures. “The Badals sold government hotels and resorts to their associates at throwaway prices. A hotel built by the Badals in the periphery of Chandigarh reportedly charges up to ₹5 lakh per night,” he said.
“Before coming to power in 2007, the Badal family owned 50 buses, but now the number stands at 650 and the number of transport companies owned by the family has risen from two to eight,” he said, adding, “Government companies having larger fleets are running in huge losses, but Badal family’s buses are profiting.”
On his joining the Congress, Sidhu said, “I joined the party without a condition. I will have a role in campaigning to make the party win the polls,” he said .
Attacking the opposition in typical Sidhu style, he said: “Pagri sambhal jatta, bairian ney lutt liya sara maal oye (It’s time to save the turban… enemies have looted the riches),” he said .
DAY OF SIDHU VS BADALS
Friday saw a ferocious war of words between the ruling Badals and Navjot Sidhu. Sample this:
SIDHU’S STRIKES
They (Badals) sidelined me in Amritsar. Jealousy is jaundice of soul.
The loss of Punjab is directly proportional to Sardar Badal’s gain.
Badal saab, tu kar kar hera-pherian, charr baitha teesi (Mr Badal you made it to the top by wrong-doings).
BADALS’ BARBS
Sidhu has changed so many mothers … First, it was BJP, then AAP and now Congress.
SUKHBIR SINGH BADAL
Sidhu betrayed BJP. He is now a paid agent of Congress and can’t be trusted.
PARKASH SINGH BADAL.
Sidhu’s oratory is limited to laughter shows. In Lok Sabha he rarely opened his mouth.
NO SHOES, NO BLACK!
Cautious after a shoe attack on CM Parkash Singh Badal recently, the police on Friday asked attend- ees to remove their shoes before the CM’s daughter-in-law and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal arrived for the Akali workers’ meeting in Mansa’s Bhikhi town. Black clothes were also banned, lest these be used to mark protest.
SIDHU’S TAKE
OnCMcandidate: “I met Rahul Gandhi (AICC vice-president) a few times and never demanded anything. I have no personal agenda”.
On BJP: “Before leaving BJP, I met all its leaders and requested them to save Punjab. I would have easily left Amritsar and contested from Kurukshetra if it was in Punjab’s interest.” On AAP: “I met Arvind Kejriwal and told him that I don’t want anything. They didn’t want me to contest the polls.”
President’s daughter slams AAP
LUDHIANA: Lambasting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, a senior Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of President of India Pranab Mukherjee, claimed that there is no truth in claims made by AAP of development in Delhi.
While addressing a press conference in Ludhiana on Friday, Mukherjee said that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal is misguiding the people of Punjab by making false claims about development works in Delhi. District Congress president Gurpreet Gogi and Ludhiana West Candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu were present during the press conference.
Mukherjee claimed that no development has taken place in Delhi while liquor vends have been opened at various places. While attacking on SAD-BJP alliance, Mukherjee said that the SAD-BJP government is responsible for drug menace in Punjab.
SAD office-bearers join Congress
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, January 20
In another jolt to the SAD-BJP alliance in the city, many SAD office-bearers today joined the Congress in the presence of Manpreet Singh Badal at a function held in the trans-railway line area in Ward number 40 and 41.The leaders who came into the Congress fold were SAD vice-president (city) Gurcharan Singh Aulakh, SAD women’s wing vice-president (city) Baljit Kaur Bhullar, SAD women’s wing vice-president (city) Poonam Verma, organising secretary circle canal Bhola Singh, youth president of Ward Number 43 Dr Resham Singh, youth wing circle canal vice-president Anil Yadav and others.Congress candidate Manpreet Badal assured the new entrants that they would get due respect and honour.He claimed that after coming to power, record development would be undertaken in the trans-railway line area and this area would benamed new Bathinda.
