Sidhu joining any party won't affect SAD's prospects: Badal

Amid specualtions of Navjot Singh Sidhu joining hands with AAP or Congress, Union minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said it will have no bearing on her party's prospects in Punjab Assembly polls and exuded confidence of staging a record hat-trick of victory.
Sidhu, who quit his Rajya Sabha seat and BJP sometime ago, is engaged in talks with AAP and Congress ahead of crucial Assembly polls in the state slated early next year.
The wife of Punjab's deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and a senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader also dubbed AAP and Congress as "unreliable parties" who have no agenda and can do no good to Punjab.

"Whichever party Sidhu joins, it will have no effect on SAD's performance in Punjab polls... Zero plus zero will make zero," Badal told reporters when asked about Sidhu engaged in talks with AAP and Congress.
"Akali Dal will go to people on the basis of its performance in last 10 years. It will make development as the poll agenda and will seek votes on its performance and promises fulfilled, unlike AAP and Congress which have nothing to talk about except making false allegations. Akali Dal will stage a hat-trick this time based on its performance," she said.
Terming AAP and Congress as two sides of the same coin, Badal said AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has not yet fulfilled his promise of putting former chief minister Sheila Dikshit in jail.

"AAP and Congress are two sides of the same coin. Kejriwal talked about putting Sheila Dikshit behind bars, but then formed a government with the same Congress. It has been three years, he does not even mention about putting Dikshit in jail. They are unreliable parties who have no agenda," she said.

Attacking Congress, she said, Amarinder Singh has done nothing during his five-year term as chief minister and that is why he is only hurling accusations and abuses at others.
Taking on AAP, she said, "There has been no performance in Delhi. What have you done? You got your salary hiked by four times and advertisement budget was raised. He (Kejriwal) is unable to perform in his state, that is why he is running out to other states like Punjab, Goa and Gujarat."

"They have befooled the people of Delhi and now they are wanting to befool the public in other states," she alleged.
Taking on Kejriwal, Badal said, "He is a university in making false allegations. Ask Kejriwal to first stop his MP from taking drugs, then he should talk about Punjab's youth."
She accused him of "defaming" the youth of Punjab as being addicts, and claimed that during a recent police recruitment out of 3.5 lakh youth who came forward only 1.27 per cent were found to be associated with drugs.
"It is a party which has stooped so low for its personal gains, that its leaders are out to defame the entire youth of Punjab. You can defame the Akali Dal, but atleast do not defame and dub the poor youth of Punjab as drug-addicts," she said.