A day after Congress lodged a protest with the CEC to restrain Parkash Singh Badal from holding 'Sangat Darshan' in Dhuri assembly seat, the chief minister today said his programme was not associated with politics, but aimed at ushering in development and prosperity.
"The Sangat Darshan programme is not related to the impending elections in the constituency (Dhuri) after its MLA (Arvind Khanna of Congress) had submitted his resignation," 87-year-old Badal said addressing people from different villages of the Dhuri assembly segment on the first day of Sangat Darshan programme.
He said that it had been decided to hold a Sangat Darshan programme in one Assembly segment each of Majha and Doaba, while Sangat Darshan programmes would be held in two Assembly constituencies of Malwa every month.
"Under this pattern the Sangat Darshan was being organised in Dhuri," he said.
Describing the Darshan programmes "far from political hue", he said that he had always accorded top priority to this programme as it was the best way to redress the people's grievances at a single platform on one hand, besides ensuring unbridled development in a democratic set up, thereby bridging the communication gap between government and the masses.
The five times chief minister commenting on ensuing Delhi Assembly elections said the SAD-BJP alliance would contest the elections with "complete coordination and unity".
"The alliance would mark a big victory and the coalition government would be set up in Delhi," he added.
The Akalis have put its candidates on four seats in Delhi, of whom three will contest under the BJP symbol.
Yesterday, the Punjab Congress had lodged a protest with CEC H S Brahma urging him to restrain Badal from "influencing" voters in Dhuri Assembly seat of the state that fell vacant following resignation of legislator Arvind Khanna.
Badal had announced that he will organise 'Sangat Darshan' programmes in the constituency in two phases from January 21 to 24 and then from January 27 to 29.
"The Sangat Darshan programme of the chief minister is a completely politically-motivated exercise, to strengthen his party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) at the cost of public exchequer," the Congress had pleaded in its complaint to the CEC.
