Ludhiana bypoll: Setback for AAP as women wing ex-chief joins Akali Dal

Ludhiana, June 11 (IANS) The Shiromani Akali Dal’s campaign in Ludhiana (West) constituency received a major boost on Wednesday with Aam Aadmi Party’s Mahila Wing’s former President Preeti Malhotra joining the party along with her supporters in the presence of party President Sukhbir Badal. 

Welcoming Preeti Malhotra into the party, Badal said all original workers of AAP were demoralised and were leaving it because outsiders had taken over the party in Punjab. “Punjabis joined AAP to work for the state but now realise that outsiders are ruling the roost and that they don’t have any say in the party,” he added.

Badal said even Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had been completely marginalised and was working as a puppet of Arvind Kejriwal. “Same is the case of ministers who are merely figureheads with outsiders being given the responsibility of clearing files,” he stated. Asserting that all this was having a negative impact on the state, Badal said, “Government employees have not received their salaries till now”.

He said the state’s financial situation was set to worsen in the coming months. “The AAP government has already borrowed Rs 1 lakh crore in the last three years, but has nothing to show by way of development or infrastructure building. Its efforts to borrow more money are hitting a roadblock as it has reached permissible limits, besides indulging in financial mismanagement,” the SAD chief stated.

Badal also spoke on how the law and order situation had gone from bad to worse. “Businessmen are facing extortion threats on a daily basis. Even social harmony is threatened with the state witnessing desecrations of statues of Baba B.R. Ambedkar.”

Meanwhile, Preeti Malhotra, while speaking on the occasion, said even though she had asked the AAP high command to implement its promise to give Rs 1,000 per month to women, the party flatly refused to do so. “I was told that such false promises were made to win elections, and it was not necessary to implement them,” Preeti added.

She also castigated the AAP government for giving all chairmanships to outsiders, besides failing to create any employment opportunities for the youth.

Picture Courtesy: IANS