After AAP, now Cong ropes in NRIs for campaign in Punjab

Emulating Aam Aadmi Party, Congress today flagged off an 'NRI Express', a bus-load of Non-Resident Indians who would support the party in its pursuit to wrest power after losing two consecutive terms.
The bus was flagged off by senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad and party's Punjab incharge Asha Kumari here.
As many as 400 NRIs will campaign for Congress in several parts of Punjab, said NRI Daljit Sahota who was leading the group of Non-resident Indians, originally from Punjab.
He said the NRIs have come from several countries including Canada and the UK.
Few days back, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh had said NRIs, who was originally from Punjab and are settled in other countries, would campaign in favour of the party in upcoming assembly polls to "save Punjab".

To a query, Asha Kumari said those NRIs who will be campaigning for Congress are the members of Indian National Overseas Congress.

"NRIs, who have come here, had expressed wish that they would campaign for Congress party for about 10 days before the (February 4) assembly polls. And then Karan Singh, Chairman of Indian National Overseas Congress gave permission to them," said Kumari.
Asked whether NRIs have right to campaign during polls, Shakeel Ahmad said, "It is not that the relation of people who leave the country for work in other nations cease to exist. They continue to love their motherland till they are alive."

Ahmad denied the allegation of having "double standard" when the Punjab Congress chief lodged a complaint with the Election Commission regarding AAP bringing foreign nationals here.
"He (Sahota) is saying some terrorists were also brought (from abroad)," Ahmad said.
When asked about "the terrorists", Sahota said he did not take any name.
"I said they go to meet terrorists in Gurdwara," Sahota said. He further alleged that they were funded by "separatists".
Earlier, PCC chief Amarinder Singh had written to EC saying that AAP had inducted more than 27,000 persons of Punjabi-origin settled elsewhere.
(Reopens NRG 30)
Ahmad also alleged that there is a "secret understanding" between Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help BJP win Goa and Punjab assembly polls.

"There is a secret understanding between Kejriwal and Modi whereby AAP will contest in states like Punjab and Goa to help BJP win assembly polls by dividing anti-government votes," Ahmad alleged while addressing media here.
"The abject failure of SAD-BJP government (in Punjab) be it in the areas of agriculture, economy, law and order particularly related to women, children, manufacturing, jbs etc have brought Punjab to the brink of disaster," he alleged.
Describing Kejriwal as "small Modi" and the Prime Minister as "big Kejriwal", the senior AICC leader said the people of Punjab "don't trust" either of them and also "not willing to trust" the Akalis after 10 years of their "misrule".

Ahmad also dismissed any contest for the Congress from either the Akali Dal or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying the two parties were fighting each other for the second and third place.
The nation and Delhi experimented with change in the last elections and elected Kejriwal as CM and Modi as PM, and "the result of the experiment" is before everybody, said Shakeel Ahmed, adding far from being a clean city, Delhi today has become the "Garbage City".
In response to a question, Shakeel said both Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh will campaign for the party in Punjab.