Asserting that two isolated acts of indiscipline by cadres were being seriously dealt with, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today claimed there was complete unity in the party in the state.
"Difference of opinion is a healthy democratic tradition within Congress and there is nothing wrong or serious about it," Amarinder said during an interactive session with party workers in Jalandhar.
He said strictly in accordance with the principle of zero tolerance towards indiscipline, one of the two party leaders had been suspended while action recommended against the second one to Congress high command.
Bir Devinder Singh was suspended from primary membership of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee for alleged anti-party activities, while Jagmeet Brar ousted for his outbursts against Amarinder.
On the party's 'one ticket per family' policy, the former Punjab chief minister termed it as a method to encourage young talent.
However, he added that "winnability factor" will be the only criterion for allotment of tickets for the Assembly polls due in the state in 2017.
On the occasion, he asked party cadres to be prepared for polls which he said could be announced anytime.
Stating that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal "was progressively losing control" of things, Amarinder said "he might create an emotive situation and resign and go for elections."
Noting that it was important to ensure that the entire rank and file supported the single candidate, he said while only one person can get the party ticket, other deserving candidates will be nominated to various boards, corporations and trusts.
"No person who contests the elections irrespective of whether he wins or loses will be appointed to these positions as these will be exclusively reserved for those who cannot get the tickets," Amarinder said.
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Later, in a statement, Amarinder dismissed as "mala fide and politically motivated" the prosecution complaint and alleged the "cowardly" act is "engineered" by Jaitley out of sheer political vendetta.
"Now that the matter is in court, the true colours and instructions of political vendetta by Jaitley will be exposed," he said, adding he would request the court to summon the finance minister and other senior officials of the IT department to expose all those who were part of the conspiracy.
"I have known about this conspiracy for the past two years and was waiting for this opportunity to get all these people on the stand," he said.
"It was during the Lok Sabha election of 2014, which Jaitley had lost by a huge margin from Amritsar, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first raise the bogey of my foreign assets case," he said, pointing out that the issue had not helped save Jaitley from a humiliating defeat.
Amarinder claimed that the Enforcement Department (ED) and the Income Tax department were acting at the behest of Jaitley but had failed to dig out any proof against him or his family members in the past two years.
"Why did the IT not file any complaint in the past two years instead of waiting for the elections," asked the PCC chief, adding that the charges were completely fabricated and would be proved as such in the court.
