Opposition trains guns on AAP for nominating 'outsiders' for Rajya Sabha

Tribune News Service

Harshraj Singh
Ludhiana, March 21

Raising questions over few Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) nominees for Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab, opposition leaders slammed AAP. They alleged that a few candidates of the party for the Rajya Sabha are either outsiders or they don’t stay in the state.

They alleged that AAP cheated the people of Punjab by picking outsiders for the RS polls.

The leaders from opposition parties especially raised questions over the nominations of AAP MLA from Delhi Raghav Chadha and Delhi IIT faculty Sandeep Pathak.

They demanded from AAP to tell people on what basis the candidates have been selected and what have they done in the interests of Punjab till now.

Leader of Opposition in the MC House and SAD leader Jaspal Singh Giaspura alleged: “The AAP has cheated the people of Punjab by nominating outsiders. AAP should tell the people what is the contribution of AAP nominees to Punjab?”

He said: “Doctors, professors, scientists, agriculture experts, farmer leaders and Dalit community leaders from Punjab were ignored. Who will raise issues of farmers and Dalits and other concerns related to the state in the Rajya Sabha?”

A senior Congress leader, Gurdev Singh Lapran, questioned: “Is this the change that AAP had promised with the people of Punjab?”

He said: “The people of the state had given a historic mandate to AAP but it has cheated them by nominating some undeserving candidates. A few of them are even outsiders or they don’t live in Punjab. AAP should tell what these nominees have done for Punjab?”

He said: “There are many Sikh scholars, intellectuals, kin of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and other deserving persons who could be nominated for the RS. Those people who made a big contribution to the farmers’ movement were ignored too. I appeal to MLAs not to vote to the undeserving candidates who have never spoken in interests of Punjab.”

Parminder Mehta, general secretary of the PPCC, said: “It is a matter of serious concern as AAP nominated a few outsiders. Only those candidates who actually belong to Punjab deserve to be sent to the RS.”

“I want to know from AAP that how outsiders take a stand on Punjab issues such as state waters, representation of Punjab in the Bhakra Beas Management Board, agriculture and other matters in the Rajya Sabha,” Mehta questioned.

AAP spokesperson Ahbaab Singh Grewal said AAP’s three candidates from Punjab — founder chancellor of Lovely Professional University (LPU) Ashok Mittal, a businessman from Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh — are from the education, industry and sports sectors, respectively.

“Two candidates Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak have been chosen as they have worked in Punjab and they secured AAP’s landslide victory in the Assembly elections. They know everything about Punjab. They are well aware of issues related to the state,” he said.

All these five would raise the issues related to Punjab on a priority basis in the Rajya Sabha, he claimed.

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