Malout, March 16
To counter the major setbacks suffered by the Congress in the region to which former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal belongs, in the Assembly elections, the Congress leadership, while showing unusual cohesiveness today, appealed to the people to exercise their franchise decisively on April 4.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Jagmeet Brar, MP, came in the same car to a local marriage palace to address the gathering of Congress and CPI workers. They said the Congress was united like a rock and would contest the election as its prestige issue. They also assured the state secretary, CPI, Punjab, Dr Joginder Dyal, that the Congress rank and file would fight the election on its own.
Addressing the workers, Capt Amarinder Singh said the Congress-CPI combine was committed to set up a rule of law in Punjab and to make the state free from the evils of corruption, police atrocities, unemployment and industrial recession.
The Election Commission had postponed the Assembly election in Malout after the death of SAD candidate and sitting MLA Sujan Singh. Mr Badal has fielded Mrs Mukhtiar Kaur, widow of Sujan Singh, this time. As the Congress and CPI could not win any seat in Moga, Faridkot, Muktsar and Mansa districts, this election had become an issue of prestige for both Mr Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh.
Capt Amarinder Singh pointed out that all Inspectors-General of Police (Zonal) had been directed to review every case registered by the previous regime against Congress workers and decide these on merits.
He stated that subordinate police officials would be in the districts
after their credentials were scrutinised. The Punjab Government would not leave any stone unturned to break the criminal-police nexus and all guilty police officials would have to face the consequences, he added.
The Chief Minister disclosed that the Financial Commissioner, Punjab, had been asked to probe deletion of votes in all 117 Assembly segments and all those found to be involved in
bungling would be liable to criminal proceedings. He added that the issue pertaining to the property of Mr Badal and his family members worth Rs 3500 crore was being investigated by various agencies. No step was being taken in the haste on this issue, he added.
Mr Jagmeet Brar said the time had come when the people could teach a lesson to Mr Badal for his misdeeds in the past five years. He added that the Congress government was committed to overall development of the state and nobody would be harassed by the police.
Mrs Bhattal alleged that Mr Badal did nothing in the past five years, except purchasing political power with blatant use of money and muscle power. She added that the Congress government would take all measures to check the trend of suicides among farmers.
Capt Amarinder Singh also addressed a press conference here. He alleged that the SAD-BJP government had tried to hush up criminal cases pertaining to the irrigation scam and now the government would make arrangement to hand it over to the CBI.
He claimed that he had information that large-scale bungling had been made into the funds provided by the government for irrigation and eradication of waterlogging, but the previous government had tried to hush up the same after the scam came to light about three years back.
He added that investigations were being held into these and the government would not allow anybody to go
scot-free after pocketing the state government’s money.
