 "Amarinder is Congress' face for Punjab poll, Badal kin joins party")
"The face of the Congress campaign will be Capt Amarinder Singh," senior leader and party's campaign committee chief Ambika Soni said to a query in the presence of Amarinder Singh, his predecessor Pratap Singh Bajwa and Punjab CLP leader Charanjit Singh Channi at the AICC headquarters here.
Asked specifically whether Singh is the CM candidate, she said, "How can I say this thing now. You draw your own conclusion."
More From This Section
The Congress has a tradition of not projecting any chief ministerial candidate.
The question was posed to AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmed, AICC general secretary and in-charge of Punjab Congress affairs, during a joint press conference called to announce the joining of Manpreet Singh Badal and merger of his outfit People's Party of Punjab (PPP) with Congress. Ahmed, however, asked Soni to answer it.
Amarinder, who is Punjab Congress chief, said that Congress had lost the last Assembly elections in 2012 by a 0.8% vote share while PPP had got 5 per cent of the votes.
"Had we come together, we could have saved Punjab," he said.
Manpreet, who was the state Finance Minister in 2010, quit the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal after differences cropped up between him and his uncle Parkash Singh Badal and cousin and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Manpreet today said that Congress is "the right platform" for PPP's agenda, which is growth of Punjab and asserted there were "no pre-conditions" for the merger.
"We feel Congress will be a good, and actually the right and only platform where we can carry forward our Punjab agenda," he said at the AICC conference.
Replying to questions, Amarinder Singh made a scathing attack on Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, dubbing it as "totally inexperienced" and warning that Punjab will "not get back on its feet if AAP comes to power after 10 years of total ruination by SAD-BJP".
Singh also claimed that Kejriwal was trying to become Chief Minister of Punjab. He also ridiculed the AAP leader's poll promises, saying they showed his inexperienced.
He also said that with the merger of PPP, his party would now work towards bringing all secular like-minded parties together under "some sort of alliance" to defeat the Akalis and BJP.
He described BSP, CPI and CPI(M) as "like-minded parties" and made a veiled reference to AAP as a "disruptionary force".
Amarinder was chief minister of the state from 2002 to 2007. Congress lost two consecutive assembly elections in Punjab to Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine.
Amarinder hailed Manpreet, saying he was an "able" finance
minister of Punjab and will be a "great asset" to Congress in the state.
He, however, steered clear of questions as to what were the other like-minded parties with whom he was in talks.
Manpreet, meanwhile, said his party had decided to merge with Congress as it was felt that they "needed to do more than be mere sentinels on the sidelines".
Replying to questions, he said that he was also approached by AAP but "they do not have a blueprint to turn around Punjab". The Congress platform is "bigger, better and more experienced", he added.
He further said that Rahul had come across as a sensitive and well-meaning leader who was eager to understand the issues of Punjab. "Even a tehsildar in Punjab has more airs than him," he said.
Manpreet said that Congress has accepted PPP's 11-point agenda, including on the matter of putting an end to VIP, VVIP culture and eliminating nepotism and favouritism in government functioning.
The agenda also speaks of "ending the stranglehold" of a few individuals and families on the state's natural resources and combating the drug menace as top priorities.
Amarinder for his part vowed to finish off the drug menace within four weeks if the Congress wrests power in Punjab.
"Everyone knows who is behind all this... Drugs have finished one entire generation. We do not want the next generation to go that way. It is a tragic situation which everyone knows," he said.
Asked about the Pathankot terror incident and the controversy surrounding the local SP, he said "there is no terrorist (within Punjab)".
"There is no internal business. NIA is investigating the whole matter (Pathankot strike)," he added.
The former Punjab chief minister said that the state was in a "very precarious" financial state as it has accumulated a debt of Rs 1,25,000 crore, which is expected to grow by Rs 75,000 crore by the time the Assembly polls are held.
Debt servicing is a major problem in the state where teachers are getting salaries after seven months, he added.