Akalis resorting to desperate measures for publicity: Congress

State Congress leaders accused the Badal govt of continued misuse of the official machinery for its vested political interests

Punjab Congress on Thursday attacked the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the state for "resorting to cheap and desperate measures" to promote the party ahead of next year's Assembly election.

Reacting sharply to the party's recent attempt to use a mortuary van for collecting publicity booklets from the SDM's office at Kharar in Mohali, Congress leaders alleged that the Parkash Singh Badal government had hit "a new low in its efforts to pull the SAD out of the political abyss" it had plunged into.

The driver of the funeral van was forced to flee as the locals came out in protest, they claimed.

Such measures clearly indicated that the Akalis had "lost the last vestige of hope" of coming back to power in the state, Punjab Congress leaders Jagmohan Singh Kang, Hardayal Singh Kamboj, Sunder Sham Arora and Harchand Kaur said in a joint statement here.

In fact, they claimed, "It has become more than evident that the corrupt SAD is poised to be completely wiped out of Punjab in the coming Assembly election, which is pushing them to resort to such extreme measures."

The state Congress leaders accused the Badal government of "continued misuse of the official machinery for its vested political interests in blatant violation of the Election Commission directives".