Maghi Mela: Badal makes Modi-for-PM-again pitch
POLITICKING Sukhbir dubs chief minister Amarinder Singh alcoholic, says he is inaccessible to people; no conferences by Cong, AAP, LIP and Punjabi Ekta Party
MUKTSAR: Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday exhorted the people of Punjab to vote for the Shiromani Akali DalBharatiya Janata Party (SADBJP) alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to make Narendra Modi prime minister for the second consecutive term.
He said this while addressing a rally at the annual Maghi Mela in Muktsar.
The ruling Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the recently floated Punjabi Ekta Party and the Lok Insaaf Party of the Bains brothers did not hold any political conference. The SAD had decided to go for it despite an appeal by chief minister Amarinder Singh not to politicise the “sacred occasion”.
“Modi as prime minister will benefit the people of the state,” the SAD patron said.
Taking a dig at Amarinder Singh, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal called him a drunkard. “Captain daru pee ke dakkyaa rehnda hai (Captain is always drunk). As CM, Badal saab always remained among the people of the state in contrast to Amaridner Singh who is inaccessible,” Sukhbir quipped.
In an indirect reference to rebellion in SAD, he said, “Those who left us have stabbed the party in the back.”
“Prime Minister Modi ensured the conviction of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots,” he said. He also credited the PM for the Kartarpur corridor.
On SAD (Taksali) president and Khadoor Sahib MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura’s charge that the Badals have captured SAD and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), he said the latter is a “democratically elected body”.
“Those who put the blame on us lose elections. Why don’t people give mandate to them? SAD is not a personal asset of anyone,” he said. Badal senior, however, stayed away from commenting on the recent revolt by Brahmpura and other taksali leaders.
Former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, Badal loyalists Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Sikandar Singh Maluka also spoke at the rally.
Former BJP minister Tikshan Sood lambasted the Congress while recounting what he called the “achievements of the previous SAD-BJP government”. He termed former Aam Aadmi Party leader Sukhpal Khaira, who recently floated the Punjabi Ekta Party, a turncoat.
SAD GIVES MODI CREDIT FOR CONVICTION OF CONGRESS LEADER SAJJAN KUMAR IN THE 1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS