Alleging sand, liquor mafia still calling shots, Navjot Singh Sidhu challenges Punjab CM to debate

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar/Amritsar, April 8

A week after he was released from a jail, Congress leader Navjot Sidhu has asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to hold a debate with him on various promises he had made to the people of Punjab a year ago. He alleged that the state government had failed to rein in the mafia — be it in sand, liquor or cable businesses.

Sidhu was here at the residence of Congress candidate for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll Karamjit Chaudhary, whose husband and Jalandhar Congress MP had passed away in January this year. Mourning the loss, he assured the family of all support for the May 10 byelection.

Repeatedly calling the Punjab CM as his younger brother, Sidhu said, “You only made hollow, false promises to the people to come to power. You showed them the dream of a clean, corruption-free government. You promised them an excise corporation would be formed. Where is this corporation now? The big contractors in AAP have got the liquor licences even in Punjab, with one of them already behind the bars.”

Questioning the CM, he said, “You have given free power to the people of Punjab. But have you told them how much debt you have taken for this. The PSPCL will never be able to recover from these losses.” He slammed the CM for not being able to break the monopoly in the cable business in the state. “You put blame of giving shelter to mafia on ex-CM Capt Amarinder Singh. How is it that the mafia continues to rule under your patronage too?” he alleged, while daring the CM to debate with him on the issues directly.

On his visit to Amritsar, Sidhu warmly shook hands with the people while accepting ‘siropas’, swords and Congress flags from supporters and party leaders at the Golden gate, the entrance to the city on GT Road.

Only close Congress workers and leaders had information of his arrival about which he had tweeted a day before.

Earlier, Sidhu had received an overwhelming welcome in the city when he had arrived after being appointed president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) in July 2021.

During his association with the BJP, massive welcome parades used to be held here clogging main roads. Those scenes were not visible this time.

Senior Congress leaders like MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, former Deputy CM OP Soni, Inderbir Singh Bolaria, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Harpartap Singh Ajnala and former MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma were conspicuous by their absence.

Along with close supporters of Sidhu were present former MLA Sunil Dutti, former chairman of the Amritsar Improvement Trust Damandeep Singh Uppal and former PPCC general secretary Joginder Pal Dhingra.

Sidhu in his inimitable style did not mince words and slammed the AAP-led state government. He said the incumbent Punjab Government was the ring leader of mafia. He said the government was being run by a business house for commercial interests while it did nothing for the people.

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