Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi Tuesday launched a scathing attack on his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, calling him an "imposter" and accusing his Aam Aadmi Party of making only false promises and giving fake guarantees.
The senior Congress leader also blamed the Badals of the Shiromani Akali Dal for the 2015 sacrilege incidents and the consequent police firing at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura in Faridkot.
His attacks on rival parties sharpened as the electoral battle for Punjab intensifies with polls just months away.
"The AAP is announcing only false promises, fake guarantees," he alleged, while calling their poll promises as a "bundle of lies".
"(Arvind) Kejriwal is an imposter and his announcements and schemes are actually not for the welfare of the public even in Delhi, what to talk of Punjab," Channi alleged.
He said "free power of up to 400 units announced in Delhi is nothing but a gimmick". The Delhi government charges a hefty amount if the consumption crosses 400 units, he said.
Addressing a gathering in the new grain market of Kotkapura, he also said the 2015 sacrilege matter is sub-judice so he cannot divulge details, according to an official statement.
However, he alleged the Badals were "hand-in-glove with the perpetrators of this heinous crime".
Recalling police firing incidents at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura, Channi said the firing did not take place on peaceful protestors at these places "but in reality took place on our chests".
"We vow that real perpetrators of this unpardonable crime will not be spared," the CM further said.
The incidents related to desecration of Guru Granth Sahib and police firing at Sikh demonstrators protesting against the sacrilege that had taken place in Faridkot in 2015 when the SAD-BJP was in power.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has been questioning his own party government in the state over the issue of ensuring justice in the 2015 sacrilege and post-sacrilege police firing incidents.
Channi further said that all of his government's promises have been transformed into realities during just two months.
"Apart from other welfare schemes, now we are offering the lowest price of power and petrol in Punjab," he said.
Speaking on this occasion, Transport Minister Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said nobody had ever dared to stop illegal buses running on the roads.
He further said the government has not only stopped "all the illegal buses but also impounded 135 buses to fill the state coffers with Rs 14 crore".
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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