Cong, Akalis Sowing Seeds of Division on Caste, Religious Lines, Says Amarinder Singh

Punjab Lok Congress chief Amarinder Singh on Wednesday accused the Congress, AAP and the Shiromani Akali Dal of sowing the seeds of caste and religious dissension in the state. He said this move would backfire on the parties, who are “compromising the peace and security of the border state to further their narrow political interests”. The former chief minister alleged that the parties are attempting to “polarise” harmonious Punjab society. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had started the “divisive” campaign by announcing a Dalit deputy CM if elected to power, triggering a mad race to follow suit, he said in a statement here.

The Congress, which had fallen unthinkingly for the Akali ploy, will pay for its mistake in announcing its CM face on caste lines, he said. “Have these parties ever thought about the consequences such divisiveness could have on a border state like ours,” asked Singh. None of these parties will be able to reap the benefit of their “separatist” policies, he said. It will be the NDA alliance that will form the government in the state, he asserted, adding that the PLC-BJP-SAD Sanyukt coalition will consolidate the votes lost by these parties in the coming days.

After a public meeting in Sanjay Colony, Patiala, the PLC chief termed as unfortunate the fact that the Punjab polity was currently revolving around casteist and religious narratives. He recalled how caste or religion was never an issue during his childhood days but with these parties playing the caste card, Punjab, for the first time, getting divided on such divisive lines. “In any case, Channi’s anointment as chief ministerial candidate by Rahul Gandhi amounted to sheer insult for aam aadmi’ (the common man), considering the crores of sand mafia money seized from his kin,” said the former chief minister.

Promising continuation of the development activities he had initiated in Patiala during his chief ministerial tenure, Singh stressed that the development of the region and the state were linked with a strong Centre-state alliance, which his party was offering in coalition with the BJP and SAD (Sanyukt). The prime minister had planned to announce Rs 43,000 crore worth of development projects at the Ferozepur rally which the Channi-led government “damaged by allowing the security breach”, he added. “The prime minister had personally told me that our alliance will transform Punjab for the better,” he said, adding that the NDA can provide a strong government necessary for development and security of the state. The BJP is fighting the Punjab assembly polls in alliance with former chief minister Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and the Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).

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