New Delhi: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday came down heavily on Aam Aadmi Party president Arvind Kejriwal as he called him a political tourist and a “liar” who surfaces with “fake promises” just ahead of Assembly elections in the state
Addressing a public meeting in Sultanpur Lodhi, Navjot Sidhu dared the Delhi Chief Minister for a debate on the issue of employment, claiming he had promised eight lakh jobs in the national capital but gave only 440.
“Come and sit (with me), wherever in Punjab. Even call me to Delhi. Will sit at your home, bring TV channels also. If Sidhu gets defeated, then (I) will leave politics,” Navjot Sidhu said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
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He also cornered Arvind Kejriwal for his promise of giving Rs 1,000 every month to women as asked whether the Delhi CM was giving this amount to women in the national capital where he heads the AAP government.
Arvind Kejriwal had earlier this month claimed that illegal sand mining worth an estimated Rs 20,000 crore was taking place in Punjab. If the AAP formed a government, it would stop this and the money would be used to fund his party’s poll promise of Rs 1,000 per month for women, he had said.
Reacting to this claim, Navjot Sidhu said: “He says that Rs 20,000 crore will come from the sand mining sector in Punjab. The last government (Akali-BJP) deposited Rs 40 crore every year. We (Congress government) are depositing Rs 300 crore. How could you (Kejriwal) get Rs 20,000 crore?”.
“Show me any state which generates more than Rs 3,000 crore from the sand mining,” the Punjab Congress president added.
Amping up the attack, Sidhu said “I tell you, Kejriwal! You know nothing about Punjab”, adding, “You are a political tourist and a liar who comes here after four and half years with fake promises. Why did you not come in the last four and half years?”.
He also accused Arvind Kejriwal of privatising liquor in the national capital while he said that funds to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore could be generated from the liquor business in Punjab, Rs 2,000-3000 crore from sand mining and from cable and other sectors.
Calling Kejriwal a “fraud”, Sidhu remarked that even a garden lizard does not change as many colours as the AAP chief does, reported PTI.
Attacking the Delhi Chief Minister for his poll time “lollipops”, he told people to ask Arvind Kejriwal why there are no women in his cabinet.
The Congress leader also accused the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Badals of “looting” the state during their regime.
Meanwhile, Navjot Sidhu once again batted for his “Punjab model” of governance, promising minimum support price on pulses and oilseeds if his party returns to power.
“If the Centre does not pay MSP, does not give legal guarantee to it, the Punjab government will give MSP on daal (pulses) and oilseeds. I promise it,” he said.
The attacks come as all parties are in campaign mode ahead of the assembly elections next year wherein AAP and SAD seek to dethrone Congress in Punjab, while the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress-BJP alliance also hopes to secure victory.
(With Agency Inputs)
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