Gurdaspur LS seat a parking space for outsiders: AAP’s Khajuria

Salaria, a business tycoon, said he had roots in Gurdaspur after Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh claimed that the BJP nominee would never leave his business interests in Mumbai for the people of Gurdaspur.

The Aam Aadmi party (AAP) candidate for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll, Major General Suresh Khajuria (retd), on Monday accused the Congress and the BJP of turning the Parliamentary seat into a “parking space for outsiders”.

Major General Suresh Khajuria, Sukhpal Khaira and Bhagwant Mann.(HT File)

He said the seat had always been represented by “outsiders”, barring two occasions, and urged the voters to back a “local face”. Khajuria also vowed to generate employment, build educational institutes and revive the old industry clusters in Gurdaspur.

“Some political parties are trying to fit in their candidates here, including those who lost elections in their areas, as if this is a parking space for broken vehicles.”

“Some political parties are trying to fit in their candidates here, including those who lost elections in their areas, as if this (the Gurdaspur seat) is a parking space for broken vehicles,” the AAP candidate said. Khajuria, 64, hails from the Bungal village in Pathankot, which falls under the Gurdaspur Parliamentary constituency.

“Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar hails from Abohar and BJP nominee Swaran Singh Salaria is from Mumbai. Would they find time to meet the people of Bhoa, Pathankot, Batala and attend their social ceremonies?” he wondered. Jakhar recently shrugged off the “outsider” tag as “irrelevant” during a meeting with Congress workers.

Salaria, a business tycoon, said he had roots in Gurdaspur after Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh claimed that the BJP nominee would never leave his business interests in Mumbai for the people of Gurdaspur.

Khajuria, who had served two tenures as the brigade and division commander in Punjab during his 37 years of service in the army, also batted for involving the ex-servicemen and unemployed youth in community policing to keep a check on illegal activities in the border areas.

The Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the death of the local BJP MP, actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna, in April due to cancer. Khanna was a four-time MP from Gurdaspur. The bypoll is scheduled to be held on October 11.