Banking on Amarinder, BJP launches Punjab election campaign

| | Chandigarh
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Banking on Amarinder, BJP launches Punjab election campaign

Friday, 29 October 2021 | Monika Malik | Chandigarh

Banking on a slew of pro-Sikh decisions by the NDA-led Central Government, including opening of Kartarpur corridor, the saffron party on Thursday launched its election campaign for 2022 state assembly polls — ‘Nawan Punjab, BJP de Naal’.

Even as the former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had already made clear his intentions of “seat sharing arrangement” with the BJP if issue of farm laws were resolved “in farmers’ interest”, the saffron brigade categorically declared that it would be contesting the ensuing polls from all 117 seats.

However, the party made it clear that it would welcome Capt Amarinder for having similar thinking and ideology.

Launching the campaign with Punjab BJP’s top brass, the Union Minister and party’s state election in-charge Gajinder Singh Shekhawat brought into play the issues that concern Punjab and its people — 1984 riots, Kartarpur Sahib corridor, among others—and the decisions taken by the BJP-led Central Government in its tenure of past seven years.

Shekhawat, addressing the gathering, maintained that in the last seven years, the BJP Government at the Centre has delivered justice to the Sikhs who suffered in the 1984 riots and after 35 years, justice was delivered.

“The black list was abolished, the Kartarpur Corridor was opened after the partition by the initiative of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, GST has been removed from langar, Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) was granted Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration,” said Shekhawat.

He also listed out the setting up of AIIMS at Bathinda, AIMS at Amritsar, besides PGI satellite centres at Sangrur and Ferozepur, two new airports, new tourism sectors, and mega infrastructure projects, among other things.

“We deliver and not merely promise,” he asserted, while declaring that the party will be contesting 117 seats in the coming assembly elections, and will create a history by forming the next government.

On possible tie up with Capt Amarinder, Shekhawat evaded a direct reply and said that whoever is with BJP’s ideology and supports in the fulfilment of party’s goal, “we will welcome them with open arms”.

On the farmers’ issue, the Union Minister categorically stated that 11 rounds, so far, have been conducted with the farm unions and the Central Government took an extra step of stalling the laws for 18 months. “Our initiative to address the issue can never be doubted. Our doors are always open,” he said.

Mincing no words, he said: “Some people are targeting the Central Government by using farmers for their personal interest and political ambitions...The Central Government has introduced these farm laws only for the farmers’ benefit. In these, emphasis has been laid on the land reforms, increasing the yield and providing the farmers with different means of income.”

Claiming that most of the farmers of the country are happy with the farm laws, Shekhawat said:  “We, still, do not want any single annadatta to be angry with us...The doors for dialogue with the Centre are always open. The Central Government also wants that this issue should be resolved soon,” he added.

“We will go the people with an outlined agenda of bringing prosperity and opportunity for everyone and commit that the mafia raj will be wiped out in the state,” he added.

The Union Minister also asserted that the BJP will give due political recognition to every segment in the State.

Dubbing its rival political parties — Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — as totally bereft of any vision to lead the State to prosperity, Shekhawat said: Punjabis are disgruntled with the miserable performance of these parties and they will be routed at the elections by the people.”

Speaking on the issue of BSF, Shekhawat said that the national security can never be compromised and the incidents of drug smuggling and drones carrying weapons had increased manifold.

‘NOV 8 ASSEMBLY SESSION ON BSF ISSUE ONLY TO DEVIATE PEOPLE’S ATTENTION’

Referring to the “pertinent issue” raised by the former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah number of times, Shekhawat also pointed that the present Chief Minister Charanjit Channi had recently met the Union Home Minister and brought up the issue. “Now, this session, which is being called in the Assembly on November 8, is nothing but a strategy to deviate the people from the main issues of good governance,” he said.

 

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