This Mann no stranger to controversies
Punjab Congress leader Harinderpal Singh ‘Harry’ Mann is no stranger to controversies. He has switched parties to remain in power. Made information commissioner by the Akali Dal, he went on to bag the Congress ticket to fight from Sanaur in last year’s state polls. But the Congress won, he lost. A loose cannon, he has now left Congress blushing after a video of his advice to partymen “not to be suppressed by Akalis but cut them” has gone viral. He later explained that he had merely asked them to use swords in self-defence. Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh too had threatened a “Qatal-e-aam” (massacre) in a rally during 2012 elections. He lost. He is now playing “no vendetta politics” tune after winning. And Akalis are all smiles. Singh Badal, it seems, are competing with each other in namecalling. Sukhbir, who is also the president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), last week called the minister “mental”. Two months ago, he had called Sidhu a “Bandar” (monkey). Sidhu has been also frequently referring to Sukhbir as “Sukha gappi”. The two leaders are expected to debate issues, not heckle each other. false promises during the poll campaign. Chugh played a video of the promises made by Amarinder in the run-up of to state elections last year. “Vaada tera vaada, Jhoota hai tera vaada”, sung by Kishore Kumar for a movie titled ‘Dushman’, was among songs that provided the background score. The scribes had a hearty laugh. to pay them visits for meetings. With babus and mantris absent, what help is the help desk.