Next general elections crucial for country: Amarinder
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 May, 2022 10:13 AM
Chandigarh, May 3 (IANS) Former Punjab Chief Minister and President of Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), Amarinder Singh, said on Tuesday that the 2024 general elections will be crucial for the country as there is a need for a stable and strong government.
Speaking at a meeting of the PLC candidates who contested the recent Assembly elections in Punjab, he said given the geopolitical situation previaling in the world in view of the Russia-Ukraine war, the country needs a stable, mature and strong leadership, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is providing.
State BJP General Secretary Subhash Sharma also attended the meeting.
Amarinder Singh also said that the PLC and the BJP will jointly fight the municipal corporations elections in Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar and Jalandhar.
The meeting took stock of the prevailing situation in the state and also reviewed the performance of the party candidates in the last Assembly elections.
Amarinder Singh said that while the people of Punjab voted overwhelmingly for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with great expectations, there is already a strong sense of disillusionment against the state government.
The former Chief Minister claimed that not only has the AAP government backed out on several promises and commitments, it is also hurting the pride of Punjabis by usurping their power and rights.
He said Punjabis would never tolerate an outsider like Arvind Kejriwal running the government from Delhi, pointing out how Kejriwal is conducting meetings of Punjab officials in Delhi and issuing commands to them.
It is unconstitutional and unacceptable, he said.
Addressing the meeting, Subhash Sharma said although the BJP-PLC alliance could not win many seats, a strong foundation has already been laid.
He said while the immediate focus will be on the municipal elections which are due within less than a year from now, the alliance will be a formidable force in the 2024 general elections.
Stressing that Rajiv Gandhi was a close friend, Amarinder Singh recalled that he always used ask when the day will come when people will have their own houses to live and India would be free from poverty. He, therefore, thought it apt to launch this scheme on the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, said the Chief Minister, adding that the Congress had fighting for the people for the last 130 years.
Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for Covid management in the national capital, stated that no one can deny that Delhi grappled with an oxygen shortage during the peak of the second wave of the Covid pandemic (April-May) and several people died due to oxygen shortage.
Speaking at the meeting, Sonia Gandhi said, "Monsoon session of Parliament was a complete washout entirely due to the government's obstinate and arrogant unwillingness to discuss and debate urgent issues of public importance."
The Chief Secretary said the 300-bed state of the art hospital will act as a tertiary care centre for the entire northern region, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's Subject Expert Committee has granted Zydus Cadila's three-dose vaccine emergency use authorisation in India. The vaccine can be administered to people aged 12 and above.
The Punjab Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested former state Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini in a fraud case pertaining to the sale of land in 2020 and is likely to be produced in a court on Thursday.
