Alliance with BJP in national, state interest: Capt Amarinder Singh

Former Chief Minister and Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) leader Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said his party’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal-Sanyukt was in the national and state’s interest.

Addressing a public meeting after inducting senior Congress leader Raj Numberdar into the party today, Amarinder said, Punjab was faced with multiple challenges, particularly on the security and economic front. “I found the BJP as the only party that can take care of both things,” he said, while adding, he was glad to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Punjab tomorrow at Ferozepur.

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He said, having known Prime Minister Modi for a long time, he had seen him concerned about Punjab and the Punjabis and he understood Punjab very well.

Appealing to people to support the alliance in ensuing elections, Amarinder asked them to ensure that they were voting while keeping in mind the interest of the state and the country and their own area.

Later addressing a press conference, the former CM lashed out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu for taking people of Punjab for a ride by making promises which they knew cannot be fulfilled.

Referring to Sidhu’s plethora of problems he made to women and girl students, Amarinder wondered whether he (Sidhu) realised their financial implications. “The cumulative debt of Punjab is already about five lakh crores and I don’t know where from Sidhu and Kejriwal will get the money to support these schemes,” he said, while pointing out, it was the same Sidhu, who a month ago opposed his own Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on freebies and sops and now he is doing it himself.

He said Sidhu did not have a permanent stand on anything.

Replying to a question that Channi had been accusing him of non performance, Amarinder said, Channi as well as other Congress leaders are seeking votes for five years of performance of Congress government which was headed by him (Capt Amarinder) for four and a half years.

“You ask them, if I did not perform, why are they seeking votes for last five years and not their own three months alone?” he asked, while adding, let the CM explain which project can be completed within 90 days as normally any project takes between six to eighteen months to complete. “Mere announcements do not make for achievements,” he remarked.