Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today alleged that SAD-BJP and Congress had joined hands to stop AAP from winning the Punjab assembly elections which slated to be held early next year.
"It is an open secret now that both Akalis and Congress have come together to keep AAP away from Punjab", Kejriwal alleged while addressing the members of trading community and industry here.
He also accused Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh of being the "joint candidate" of SAD-BJP alliance and Congress .
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"That's why Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has withdrawn a corruption case against Amarinder just three months before the Punjab polls which has been going on for nearly 10 years", alleged Kejriwal.
He said Badal was only returning a "favour" to Amarinder by doing so as the latter opposed CBI probe against his son's brother-in-law and Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia about two years ago.
Kejriwal alleged said at that time, Amarinder ensured after speaking to Congress president Sonia Gandhi that no CBI probe be initiated against Majithia even though PPCC president and MP Partap Singh Bajwa strongly demanded it.
"People of Punjab would want to know from Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal what kind of a deal the Akalis and the Congress have struck for a complete collusion between them. After all such favours are not exchanged just for nothing", alleged Kejriwal who is on Punjab tour.
Kejriwal said there were thousands of "false" cases registered against people of Punjab which Badal never considered withdrawing.
"So everything being done by both Akalis and Congress is to politically benefit each other," he further alleged.
Kejriwal alleged that every single penny that SAD-BJP alliance or Congress would use in the Punjab polls would directly or otherwise come from the drug trade in Punjab.
"Voting for SAD-BJP alliance or Congress would mean voting for drug trade. Whereas vote for AAP would mean electing an honest, clean and transparent government in Punjab", Kejriwal said.
He alleged that Akalis and Congress are spreading rumours that if AAP comes to power in Punjab it would not get any financial help from the NDA government at Centre.
"I would like to ask the people of Punjab what financial help SAD-BJP alliance has been able to get from Modi government in last two years by indulging in his sycophancy", said Kejriwal.
Kejriwal said he was ready to even bend before Modi for the sake of Punjab and its people but if he tried to ignore the demands of Punjab he also knew how to grab it from him through democratic means.
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Alleging that Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh and the Badals are contesting the Punjab assembly polls jointly, he said, "I have learnt that many hoardings of Congress across Punjab have actually been funded by Badals."
"Similarly, they (SAD and Congress) are seen together waving black flags at me wherever I go. I have never seen Akalis showing black flags to Congress leaders and vice versa," Kejriwal said.
Speaking at Dirba he alleged, "A month ago the Badal government withdrew a corruption case against Amarinder. It was a favour reciprocated to him for opposing the CBI probe against Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia for his involvement in the multi-crore drug racket."
Similarly, when Amarinder was the chief minister, from 2002 to 2007, he had never acted on the corruption cases against the Badal, the AAP national convener alleged.
"Everybody knows Amarinder and his family have stashed ill-gotten money in Swiss Bank accounts. But Badal, in his 10 year as the Chief Minister, never acted against him," Kejriwal alleged.
Asserting that AAP forms government in Punjab, it would not tolerate corruption, he said, "AAP has always worked against corruption. When I came to know an AAP minister was trying to seek a Rs 6 lakh bribe, I threw him out of my Cabinet immediately."
However, Badal has failed to take action against his ministers Tota Singh and Majithia, who have been accused of corruption and drugs, Kejriwal said.
He claimed that Badal instead of acting against corrupt leaders was filing "false" cases and lathi charging Anganwadi workers and teachers, who peacefully protest for their rights.
"Congress too failed to take action against Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler who were involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots," he said, adding Amarinder has given clean chits to Tytler and Kamal Nath.
Accusing both SAD and Congress of surrendering Punjab's right on river water, senior AAP leader H S Phoolka said the party will not allow a single drop of water to be taken from the state.
"The SAD-BJP combine and Congress have misled people on Sutlej-Yamuna-Link canal issue. The notification of acquiring land for it was issued by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Amarinder had supported it," he alleged.
