BJP leader and former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll on May 10 will set the tone for the 2024 general elections.
Addressing his maiden press conference after the 2022 assembly elections in Punjab, Capt Amarinder said: “Though this is an election for a nine-month tenure, it holds immense relevance. It is not the election of an individual. The BJP is fighting the Jalandhar bypoll on the basis of nine years’ extraordinary performance of its government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
“India faced several domestic and international challenges successfully under PM Modi’s leadership,” he added.
Captain Amarinder said that BJP’s Punjab unit is on a firm footing because of the performance of the central government. “We are reaching out to people on the basis of the BJP government’s record at the Centre,” he added.
On the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rule in Punjab, he said instead of running a government, the party is resorting to vendetta politics.
“The AAP is just playing politics of vindictiveness. They are sending opposition leaders to jail without proper investigation. I’m not saying that the corrupt should not be punished, but I believe that the government should first carry out a detailed investigation. The government should not act just because someone is in political opposition and you have to settle some score with him,” Capt Amarinder said.
{{/usCountry}}“The AAP is just playing politics of vindictiveness. They are sending opposition leaders to jail without proper investigation. I’m not saying that the corrupt should not be punished, but I believe that the government should first carry out a detailed investigation. The government should not act just because someone is in political opposition and you have to settle some score with him,” Capt Amarinder said.
{{/usCountry}}On the issue of Uttar Pradesh gangster Mukhtar Ansari, the former chief minister said, “He was arrested and lodged in a Punjab jail under due process of law as there was a criminal complaint registered against him in the state.”
On Congress leaders holding him responsible for the party’s ‘poor performance’ from 2017 to 2022, Capt Amarinder said he had once met the then Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, who asked him reasons for not taking action against the sand mafia.
“I handed over the list of those running the sand mafia. I had told her that there would be no government in Punjab if I took action against the people named on the list,” he added.
The BJP leader dismissed the suggestions that a particular community was being maligned or victimised. “Amritpal is neither a leader nor a representative of any community. We are living in a secular democracy where everyone is equal,” he said.
After unsuccessfully contesting last year’s assembly election, Capt Amarinder Singh merged his Punjab Lok Congress with the BJP in September.
He cited the BJP’s commitment to national security as one of the reasons for joining the party. Capt Amarinder, who underwent a spine surgery abroad last year, said he consulted his party colleagues before joining the BJP for “Punjab’s future”.