Amarinder Singh, Arvind Kejriwal fall out on Twitter over Punjab polls

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were engaged in a war of words on Twitter with the former daring the AAP chief to contest against him in the upcoming Punjab polls.

Kejriwal said he was not contesting Punjab Assembly elections and was fighting the Badals and state minister Bikram Singh Majithia to help free the state from the menace of drugs, following which Amarinder demanded an apology from him for making "false personal commitments".


His reply came after Kejriwal said on Twitter:

The Twitter war started with Aam Aadmi Party nominating former journalist and Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh to contest against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from Lambi constituency. Amarinder termed Jarnail as a "weak candidate" and alleged that AAP was "colluding" with the Badals.

"Jarnail's nomination bid from Lambi shows AAP-SAD collusion to ensure Badal's victory. Reeks of an underhand deal!" the PCC chief tweeted.
Kejriwal replied by saying, "Sir, r u fighting against Prakash Badal ji or Sukhbir Badal or Majithia or safe seat?"

Amarinder then dared Kejriwal to contest against him and tweeted, "Badals' story is over. You tell me where you're contesting from and I will come fight you there!"
The AAP chief retorted as follows:
The former Punjab chief minister shot back saying:

Kejriwal then replied that he was not contesting Punjab polls and was only seeking to free Punjab from the menace of drugs mafia allegedly patronised by the present dispensation.

Congress, which has been in the political wilderness for a decade now after losing two successive elections at the hands of the ruling Akali Dal-BJP combine, is seeking to wrest back power. Amarinder, who is contesting his last elections, is Congress' face in Punjab, but is pitted against entrant AAP which is giving Congress a good fight.

Punjab Assembly elections are slated for early next year and the announcement of its schedule is likely soon.

Amarinder, meanwhile, hit out at Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's 10-year "misrule", saying people of the state wanted an explanation and did not want to hear about Congress' achievements as they were already well aware of them.

Asking Badal to come out of the luxury of their "Sukhvilas", a new hotel built by the Badals in the outskirts of Chandigarh, and explain his government's "total failure" in addressing the needs of people.

He said they needed to know why they had been plunged to such depths of despair by Badal's government.

Reacting to Badal's challenge to list just one achievement of his government, Amarinder said he had disclosed not one but initially 51, and then 101 achievements in the state assembly, a long time ago and it was now time for the Badal government to talk about their failures.

Amarinder also dismissed the "fraudulent propaganda" of Badal that there was no law and order problem in the state, and Congress was merely trying to put undue pressure on Punjab Police.

He alleged that Badals had neither the imagination nor the intent to alleviate the sufferings of the people of Punjab who had allegedly been brought to the brink of ruin by SAD government's anti-people policies.

"It is about these failures of your government that the people are interested in knowing about," Amarinder said, asking Badal to refrain from wasting public time and money by making repetitive and baseless allegations.