"Backdoor" Jaitley calling himself "Mazboot Neta" questionable: Captain Amarinder Singh

Taking a dig at Amritsar BJP candidate Arun Jaitley for claiming that he was a "Mazboot Neta" (strong leader), Congress Party candidate Captain Amarinder Singh said it was already well established as to who was the "Majboor" (helpless) leader, and who was "Mazboot"(strong).

"Mazboot netas do not go begging for constituencies to secure their secret ambitions," he remarked, while referring to the secret prime ministerial ambitions of Jaitley.

Referring to Jaitley's statement that he was "Mazboot" as opposed to a "Majboor" Captain Amarinder Singh, the latter asked whether Jaitley really thought of himself as a "Mazboot", considering that it has taken him well over 40 years to find a constituency to contest the general elections.

"Were you so strong, you would'nt need to make backdoor entries to parliament, because strong leaders don't use backdoors," he said.

"Mr.Jaitley, it is you who is helpless and not me," Captain Amarinder Singh said.

"I understand your ambitions to somehow get elected to the Lok Sabha with obvious intentions, but, I am sorry to tell you that you chose the wrong constituency by trusting a man like Parkash Singh Badal," he added.

"You must have realised what it means to trust Mr.Badal, who has simply used you in order to get rid of Mr.Navjot Sidhu," he added.

Captain Amarinder Singh also lashed out at Jaitley for his double standards in criticising his own senior party colleague Jaswant Singh, a former External Affairs and Finance Minister of the country.

"While you desperately came to Amritsar to contest, and don't even know the 'A' of Amritsar, you have been opposing Jaswant Singh's genuine claims for contesting from Barmer," he said.

He urged Jaitley to introspect on whether he had the moral right to criticise a popular leader like Jaswant Singh who has won so many electoral battles from different places and has never shied away from any battle like a true soldier.

The former Punjab chief minister reiterated that Jaitley was a pseudo-Punjabi and a rank outsider, and that he should gracefully accept this fact.

"There is nothing wrong in contesting from anywhere in the country, but there is everything wrong indeed by trying to deceive people by claiming roots and relationships with them," he remarked.

"Why are you falsely trying to invent your ancestry and roots in Punjab, when there are none?" he asked Jaitley, while adding, "no matter how much you claim yourself to be a Punjabi, the people of Punjab already know you too well."

At the same time, he added, "I would welcome if Mr.Jaitley has any genuine claims to being a Punjabi than referring to a childhood visit to the holy city.