Former Punjab chief ministers Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Amarinder Singh today found themselves locked in bitter war of words over the latter's remarks on Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.
The spat between the Congress leaders turned terse with Amarinder asking Bhattal to keep her opinion to herself.
"We are not opposed to GST, but we had put certain conditions to support the bill. Our opposition was also to BJP's behaviour on the entire issue," Bhattal explained the party's opposition to the Bill which could not be passed in Parliament.
When asked about Amarinder's unhappiness over delay in the passage of the Bill due to which Punjab would be the "worst sufferer", Bhattal asked, "It would have been better if the Deputy Leader (in Lok Sahba, Amarinder) had talked about it at Delhi and in Parliament as it was his responsibility."
She further said that Amarinder, however, was busy with his rallies in Punjab.
Later, Amarinder in a statement advised Bhattal, the Amritsar MP's known detractor, to "better keep her opinion to herself, particularly when it had neither been solicited nor required".
"Bhattal at best does not understand the urgency and importance of the GST for Punjab and at worst she does not seem to be bothered about Punjab's economy which should otherwise be everybody's concern including hers," he observed.
"I am sure she does not know what she is talking about and had she even a faint idea about the issue she would not have spoken," he said.
When asked about Amarinder's statement, Bhattal retorted, "I don't know what is pinching him... Everybody knows that he recently said that the dharnas (by Congress on various issues) outside Parliament was a wastage of time and holding rallies in Punjab was a better option."
"How can he say that our constitutional right to hold dharnas is a wastage of time? If Amarinder has right to say, I also hold equal right. I don't need to seek permission from Amarinder. If he had to say anything against me, he should have taken it up at party platform, not air it through media," she said.
