BJP can topple Bhagwant Mann govt in Punjab anytime: Charanjit Singh Channi
Newly elected Congress MP from Jalandhar and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has claimed the BJP can anytime topple the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government in Punjab.
In an exclusive interview with Jupinderjit Singh and Rajmeet Singh for a brand new video show from The Tribune’s multimedia stables called ‘Decode Punjab’, Channi said the BJP tried its best to divide the Hindu and Sikh communities in the state, but the voters rejected them outrightly.
“The BJP resorted to sectarianism by trying to divide Hindu and Dalit votes. But they didn’t succeed in their designs as people rejected their policy of divide and rule,” he said.
Channi said Punjab voters, on the other hand, gave their verdict in favour of the Congress (seven of 13 Lok Sabha seats) as they are disillusioned with the incumbent AAP government. “Moreover, people remember my 111-day tenure as the CM and have also seen how the AAP regime failed to resolve issues that it would raise before coming to power in Punjab,” the MP remarked. Asking Bhagwant Mann to step down, Channi said, “I have always said that CM Mann is still running a stage (as an artiste), not the state. He must step down and hand over the reins to someone else.”
On “factionalism” in the Congress and the vacuum of leadership, the ex-CM said the party won elections in Punjab due to team work and after setting aside personal ambitions. “All leaders are performing well in the roles assigned to them.”
Channi also said the Congress or any other party shouldn’t be seen through its past. “Operation Blue Star and the anti-Sikh riots happened during the Congress regime, but the party has sought an apology for that. Our leader Rahul Gandhi regularly pays obeisance at the Golden Temple and performs ‘sewa’… The Sikh community is large-hearted and forgiving by nature.”
About Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, the newly elected Independent MLA from Faridkot who is the son of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassin Beant Singh, Channi said any leader elected democratically should be accepted. “He should be judged from his work, not his past,” he said. The MP, however, underlined that if Khalsa or Khadoor Sahib Independent MP Amritpal Singh tried to cause any rift in the society, the Congress would stand against them. Channi firmly opposed any alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab. “Neither they nor we value it. They may soon restart their political vendetta,” he maintained.
