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.
Appearing for the Punjab government, Senior Advocate P. Chidambaram argued that Majithia has gone into hiding after the rejection of his bail plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and now he is appearing through counsel.
Interestingly, the move comes a week after neighbouring Madhya Pradesh permitted liquor sales at all its airports, select supermarkets in four major cities and also allowed issuing home bar licences to those earning Rs 1 crore or more annually.
The incident took place on Wednesday and the accused are said to be illicit liquor sellers in the area. It has been alleged that the woman was also gang-raped. A video of the incident showed the woman being attacked.
Both Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu have urged Rahul Gandhi to announce a CM face well ahead of the polls, instead of going with the collective leadership.
The ministry of external affairs organised the summit virtually on Thursday which was attended by the heads of all five Central Asian countries -- Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.
Harcharan Bains, Principal Advisor to SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal, shared documents pertaining to the reported abuse of the state intelligence wing by a private company, Movedek Politico. Bains said there are credible reports that the highest-ranked police officers of the state were asked to collaborate with the private company in intelligence gathering.
