Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, December 11: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh not to try to find scapegoats after realizing he would be presiding over a flop show at his “coronation” in Bathinda on December 15.
In a statement here SAD mp Prem Singh Chandumajra said “you have already taken the route of threat and intimidation and even urged the people to beat up akalis with sticks during the run up to the last assembly election. You met with outright rejection from the people. Please do not go on the same path again. Please desist from threatening government officials.
Mr Chandumajra said the fact of the matter was that recent meetings held to mobilize people for the party’s Bathinda rally had witnessed intense factional fighting. He said due to this as well as the absence of the Congress at the grass root level for nearly nine years now, the party was finding it extremely difficult to collect people for its rally on December 15. “It is because of this that Amarinder has started crying wolf and wants to blame the failure of his rally on government officials”.
The SAD leader said rather than blaming others for his own failures, it would be better for Amarinder to start his journey for Bathinda from Patiala on December 15. “You are sure to be met by a deluge of people coming to your city to express solidarity with the SAD. You then will have an excuse for not reaching Bathinda and avoiding the severe humiliation in store for you there”.
The SAD also reminded Amarinder of his own boasts when he announced that he would hold an even bigger rally than the Sadbhavana rally organized by the SAD at Bathinda on November 23. It said the day of reckoning was close at hand as the Congress was holding its rally at the same spot as the SAD. It said despite the fact that the Congress had announced a State rally in direct contrast to the four district show of the SAD, it was already panicking as its managers were forecasting a dismal response from the people.
Mr Chandumajra said besides this, the SAD Sadbhavana rally on December 15 at Patiala would be a true barometer of the popularity of the Punjab Congress chief. The leader said the success of the SAD rally in Amarinder’s hometown would liberate the people from the bondage of the former royal family which still considered the area as its ‘riyasat’. He said the success of the rally would also prove that the people of the region understood that the Punjab Congress and Amarinder had acted in league with radicals and helped them stage the so called Sarbat Khalsa show.
The party leader also noted that Amarinder had not given any specific instance of misconduct by government officials but had come out with a general complaint that people were being thwarted from coming to the party’s Bathinda show. He asked the Congress leader to approach the concerned deputy commissioners in case of any complaint to ensure it was resolved rather than indulging in crying wolf tactics aimed solely at warding off humiliation upon the failure of the party’s Bathinda rally.
