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HT interview: CM Mann has done me a favour by naming weak candidate, says BJP Ludhiana nominee Bittu
BJP Ludhiana nominee Bittu was responding to a question regarding allegations of the rival parties about his ”friendship” with chief minister Bhagwant Mann
Three-time member of Parliament and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu quipped that the Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann had favoured him by fielding a “weak” candidate from the seat. He was responding to a question regarding allegations of the rival parties about his ”friendship” with the chief minister.
“Of course Mann favoured me,” he said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has named sitting MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi as its candidate from the Ludhiana seat.
Targeting Congress leaders over their “betrayal remark”, Bittu said that his grandfather Beant Singh laid his life for the party and for the peace of Punjab, questioning of the Congress could return even 1% of the sacrifice. The party leaders have used the name of Beant Singh for their benefit, he said.
Bittu delved into his “detachment” from the grand old party. He said that Congress was completely distracted and had have “no vision”. “There is no discipline and everyone is indulged in infighting. The height of hypocrisy is that Congress is contesting from Chandigarh in alliance with the AAP and in Punjab, they are election rivals.
Q : You are making claims to resolve all major issues of the city. Why did you not work on them while you were a MP for the past two terms.
Punjab is lagging behind from other states, even Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, in many fields. No matter how capable you are, if you are in the Opposition, you cannot do much. After being a part of the government, I would be able to bring metro, airport, exhibition centre and other similar projects for the city. If I win, I will ensure all-round development in Ludhiana in just a year. The city has been lacking for the past 60 years.
Q : What will make people bring the BJP to power again?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision for India. He is talking about developed India Vision 2047. The INDIA bloc are not consenting behind a Prime Minister candidate. PM Modi has spotless tenure. In contrast, a leader of the INDIA bloc was bailed out in connection with a corruption case just a day ago. Ram Mandir, Kartarpur Corridor, Ropeway in Hemkunt Sahib are the other factors which would make people vote for the BJP.
Q. Ludhiana is a bastion of the Congress. Will BJP be able to break the jinx?
The BJP had never contested from Ludhiana. It was the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) that fielded contestants from the industrial city. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa have betrayed Congress leaders. Many local Congress leaders, including former cabinet ministers Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Rakesh Pandey, district Congress president Sanjay Talwar and former MLA Surinder Dawar had applied for the ticket, but both Warring and Bajwa “ignored them for their self-interests”.
Q . Is farmer protest affecting the BJP campaign at large?
Every citizen wants the government to do something for them. The BJP is serious about uplifting of the scheduled castes and other underprivileged classes. The government brought many schemes for their upliftment. Some of the people who are protesting are trying to stop them from reaching out to the weaker sections. Such protestors enjoy all the luxury and want to deprive the needy people of the facilities.
