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CHANDIGARH, October 12: Senior Congress leaders and legislators today dared the Akali Dal leaders to a public debate to draw direct comparison between their leader Parkash Singh Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh and leave it to the people of Punjab as who had been loyal, sincere and committed towards their progress.
In a joint statement senior leaders including Kewal Singh Dhillon, Rana Gurjeet Singh, Sukhjinder Randhawa and Tript Bajwa challenged the Akali leaders, to whom a statement had been attributed in a party press release today, to a public debate to compare the contribution of the two leaders.
“Instead of trying to dig into the past and blame Capt Amarinder for history over which he or nobody for that matter, has any control, you better come out for a public debate and let the public judge who has been loyal to Punjabis, Mr Badal or Capt Amarinder”, they dared the Akalis.
The Congress leaders said, the Akalis frustration was understandable as they were worried over the mass popularity of Capt Amarinder Singh and their own dipping graph at the same time. “Obviously when they have nothing against Capt Amarinder they started digging into history over which nobody has any control”, they remarked.
The Congress legislators observed that they could also feel the Akalis’ pain over the humiliation heaped by the public over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement describing Parkash Singh Badal as the Nelson Mandela of India. “The Akalis’ joy and euphoria did not last even for an hour as public blasted the myth on the social and mass media within no time and they had to rush for the cover”, they pointed out.
“We can feel your pain over the humiliation as you all know that Mr Badal did not spend even 27 months in jail and Mr Modi compared him with Mandela who spent 27 years in jail for his country”, they pointed out, while adding, “Akali leaders should also have mentioned the people’s movement that their leader had led and had been jailed for”.
The party leaders said, Akalis also know in the heart of their hearts that there cannot be any comparison with the daring decision making capability of Capt Amarinder against the timid attitude of Mr Badal.
“It was Capt Amarinder who rejoined Indian Army to fight war against Pakistan. It was Capt Amarinder who protested against Operation Bluestar and Operation Black Thunder and resigned his positions on both occasions. It was Capt Amarinder who staked his Chief Ministership at risk to save Punjab’s waters”, they pointed out, while asking the Akalis to name a single such achievement of Mr Badal that could stand any comparison.
