Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh today said if elected he would put behind bars those guilty of drug smuggling and "patronising" drug mafias, bringing to the fore the rampant drug abuse in the state, as he slammed the Badal family for failing to control the menace.
He attacked the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its top leaders, including Bikramjit Singh Majithia, for allegedly misleading the people with their "disinformation" campaign.
Capt Amarinder was talking to reporters after some Akali, Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Kamalji Singh Karwal and Yamini Gomar, officially joined Congress here.
"From transport to drugs to sand, cable TV, liquor, there was nothing the Akalis had not seized control of to promote their interests," the Congress chief alleged and vowed to eliminate "all these mafias" after coming to power in Punjab.
He accused Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD and AAP of Arvind Kejriwal of a malicious campaign against Congress, rubbishing allegations his government during his tenure as chief minister from 2002 to 2007 had banned recruitments and appointments.
He claimed the parties were doing it "deliberately".
The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief claimed his government had created job opportunities for 20 lakh youth and also recruited thousands of government employees.
He said recruitments were kept in abeyance for some time as the treasury had no money when he began his tenure in 2002.
"Had we not done so, Punjab would have plunged into an even deeper financial crisis than my government had inherited from the Akalis," he said.
He, however, said after the ban was lifted his government appointed more than 49,000 government employees and 12,000 teachers. "Neither the Badals nor AAP's HS Phoolka have an iota of knowledge (about governance) and are simply talking out of their hat."
Promising to review only the "political appointments" made by the Badals, Capt Amarinder said no government employees' jobs would be reviewed and his party was committed to provide employment to every family in the state.
Asked about how will he manage budget to implement the
promises he has made to farmers, Capt Amarinder said the party would "think out of the box" to generate money for schemes.
He dismissed as "myth" the allegations of infighting and delay in ticket allocation in Congress.
Congress leadership had to finalise candidates not just for Punjab but for other states heading to polls early next year, which was time-consuming, he said, denying allegations that he was not getting a free hand in ticket allotment.
When asked why Manpreet Badal was made Congress nominee from Bathinda Urban, ignoring a Hindu face in Surinder Singla, the PPCC president said that Singla was not keeping well.
In Kharar assembly segment, he said that to ensure Kanwar Sandhu of AAP bites the dust, Jagmohan Singh Kang has been fielded.
On former Haryana chief minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda's remark that he would campaign for Congress in Punjab only if he gave an assurance on Sutlej-Yamuna Link water sharing, the PPCC chief said there was no question of sharing the waters.
"He can come or not come, as he wishes," he said.
Regarding AAP leader Bhagwant Mann's statement that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at Centre would continue to pursue the alleged Swiss bank accounts case against him and his family, Capt Amarinder pointed out that they had been investigating the case for the past two years.
He challenged them to prove the allegations if they can.
On cricketer-turned-politician and former lawmaker Navjot Singh Sidhu joining Congress, he said they were yet to sit together and discuss the modalities of Sidhu's joining.
The Amritsar East seat has been kept aside for the Sidhu couple, and we have left it to them to decide whether Sidhu or Navjot Kaur Sidhu would like to contest from there on Congress ticket, he added.
