Jaitley must talk about issues haunting Punjab: Amarinder

Rejecting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley's charge of having mastered the art of running away, Congress Party Lok Sabha candidate for Amritsar and former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday demanded that the former should talk about issues bedeviling the state before transcending to national issues.

"I have never run away from anything. He (Jaitley) should know it better. Before you talk about national issues, you must first talk about Amritsar and its future. You must talk about Punjab and the problems faced by the people here. Then only you should transcend to the national level issues," said Captain on Jaitley's charge that he is running away from the national issues like corruption and inflation.

"Well before Jaitley came to parliament, I was a part of the seventh Lok Sabha. So, I know how the Lok Sabha works and what is the mindset of the people is. His mind his only settled on national issues. They are important but the issues prevailing in Punjab and the city you represent are equally important," Amarinder added.

On his comment that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should undergo a lie detector test, Amarinder said: "In my 47 years of political life and ten years when I was a part of the SAD, I have never seen him telling the truth. He just says things as they suit him.