SAD, AAP pose no challenge to Cong in Punjab: Amarinder

Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh today said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party pose no challenge to his party in the state.
"While Akalis pose no challenge to the Congress in Punjab, AAP lacks policy programme for the state," he said.
He targeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who belongs to Haryana, asking him to clarify his stand on inter-state river waters dispute between Punjab and Haryana.
He also wanted to know Kejriwal's stand on the issue of Chandigarh being given to Punjab.
He was paying obeisance at the Golden Temple here following his return as Punjab Congress chief recently.

He said he had accepted the challenge from Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to organise a rally at Bathinda.

"I would formally take over the reins of the party's (state unit) at that rally," he said.
He reiterated that it was the right of every Sikh to participate in 'Sarbat Khalsa' (congregation of Sikhs).
Amarinder had invited sharp criticism from ruling Akali Dal for backing Sikhs participating in 'Sarbat Khalsa' held at Amritsar on November 10.
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi he termed the BJP as "single man show".
He called upon the people to throw "the team of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal" controlling the SGPC led by Avtar Singh Makkar and elect clean and committed people instead.

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Meanwhile, Amarinder cleared air over reports of rift in Punjab Congress and said the party is completely united.
The new PCC chief said he had already spoken to his predecessor Partap Singh Bajwa to seek his full cooperation and invited him the Bathinda rally, to which he has agreed.
Amarinder will formally take over the reins of the state Congress in the rally.
"There is complete unity in the party as was proven today with 37 MLAs being present when we paid obeisance at Darbar Sahab and Durgiana Mandir, while others had called up as they were not able to come for different reasons," he said.

Capt also said the Congress was open to alliance with secular and like-minded parties and will go to the people with agendas of peace and development in the next Assembly polls.
He said, the Akalis would have done better if they had counted their achievements, if any, at their "sarkari rallies" rather than resorting to "Congress and Amarinder bashing".
"Today people want peace and development, youths want jobs, farmers want to save agriculture and trade and industry needs to be saved for generating jobs and we are going to work towards that end only," he said.
In his first visit to Amritsar today after being appointed PCC chief he paid obeisance at Darbar Sahab, Durgiana Mata Mandir and Ram Tirath Temple besides praying at the Golden Temple.

Amarinder also promised to end the misuse of religious institutions and alleged Badals' monopoly over them.
"The next SGPC elections will see the end of Badals' monopoly and misuse of this institution, which was set up after a long struggle and so many sacrifices," he asserted.
The PCC chief reiterated that the sacrilege incidents were deliberately orchestrated by the Badals as an "controlled destabilisation" attempt in the state, to divert public attention from the farmers' agitation and other failures.
Amarinder said the Congress will reach out to people with
policy and programmes rather than holding too many rallies.
Terming the November 9 'Sarbat Khalsa' as an angry reaction of the people to the Badals' "failures and misrule" he defended party leaders - Ramanjit Singh Sikki and Inderjit Singh Zira - who attended it saying "they did so as Sikhs".

"I don't agree that just because the Badals and Makkar control these institutions through deceit, we should allow these to be subverted and killed," he said.
"While we've to get rid of the Badals we've to safeguard the sanctity and authority of these institutions," he said.
Refuting Sukhbir's claims that it was an anti-national and pro-Khalistan congregation, he asked, "if it was so why was Simranjit Singh Mann not allowed to speak?"
People were angry as the State failed to identify and punish the guilty behind the sacrileges and instead implicated innocent and killed peaceful protesters, he said.
Talking of Operation Bluestar and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots Amarinder said these were tragic episodes of history deeply etched in everybody's memory and can't be written off.

Badals have always raked up these issues to cover up their failures which people are no longer going to buy as they want to move on.