AAP fallen back on compromised CM candidate: Sukhbir Badal
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Jan, 2022 12:03 PM
Chandigarh, Jan 18 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had fallen back on compromised candidate Bhagwant Mann as no one was ready to lead the party in Punjab.
Terming the nomination of Mann as a stage managed non-event, the SAD President said AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal never wanted to make Mann the face of the party in Punjab.
"He has been saying so at Mann's face while asserting that the party was looking for a capable candidate. It is also a fact that AAP sounded off a number of prospective candidates but each and every one of them refused to lead the party. This is why the responsibility has been thrust on Bhagwant after a make belief survey," he said in a statement.
Asserting that making Mann the face of the party reflected the complete bankruptcy of AAP, Sukhbir Badal said: "A desperate public relation exercise is underway to wash away Mann's omissions and commissions and project him as a leader who can take on the mantle of chief minister even though his wayward and irresponsible conduct is well known to each and everyone."
He also asked Kejriwal to tell Punjabis whom they should repose their trust in now.
"AAP has led a very public campaign urging Punjabis to repose their trust in Kejriwal since more than one year. During this same period Kejriwal has asserted that Mann is not capable of holding this post.
"Now when AAP has exhausted all options and chosen Mann to lead the party in Punjab, it needs to explain why Punjabis should trust a leader who Kejriwal refused to endorse for more than one year. Kejriwal cannot take Punjabis to be so naive as to approve his rubber stamped candidate.
"They need strong and decisive leadership as well a leader with a proven track record of conducting swift development as well as ensuring law and order and peace and communal harmony in this border state. Mann does not fit this bill," Sukhbir Badal added.
The highly specialised medical services to be rolled out across the state by end November will prove to be a boon for people, especially the poor for whom expert private sector medical care is out of reach, he said.
The Minister while addressing the inaugural session of 'Connect Karo 2021 - Towards Equitable, Sustainable Indian Cities' event, said that there can be no doubt that India's cities "enabled by citizen-centric infrastructure and transformational technology" will be the key to achieving the nation's development objectives.
Meanwhile, India logged 27,254 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The country also reported 219 Covid deaths in the same time span. The country presently has nearly 3.75 lakh active cases.
At a virtual Covid-19 review meeting, the Chief Minister said vaccine effectiveness is evident from the data being analysed. Special efforts were made to reach out to the government employees, and those who continue to avoid getting vaccinated will now be asked to go on leave till they get the first dose.
DGP Dinkar Gupta said with the case load decreasing, people had started being lax about wearing masks, which the Health Department should strictly enforce with the help of the police.
Additional Chief Secretary Devendra Singh and Deputy Commissioner of Karnal Nishant Yadav are participating in the meeting. From the farmers side, BKU president Gurunam Singh Chaduni and the state leadership will present their demands.
