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On cycle yatra, Channi takes digital route to target AAP govt
Unveils website for reporting drug trafficking, extortion, law and order issues, illegal mining and corruption by government officials
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Unveils website for reporting drug trafficking, extortion, law and order issues, illegal mining and corruption by government officials
Ludhiana Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday announced the launch of a dedicated website, “badlavdasach.com”, to enable people across Punjab to report drug trafficking, extortion, law and order issues, illegal mining and alleged corruption and misconduct by government officials.
Addressing a press conference in Ludhiana after Congress’s “Jawani Sambhal Yatra” reached the city, Channi said the platform would provide people an avenue to raise complaints against unlawful activities and alleged administrative failures in the state.
Claiming that the cycle rally received an overwhelming response in Samrala, Sahnewal and Ludhiana, Channi said people came out in large numbers to support the Congress’s campaign against drugs and showered flowers on the participants.
Taking a swipe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Channi said, “The people sent a clear message today that they are unhappy with the AAP. Their inclination towards the Congress has increased, and people have already made up their minds to bring the party to power with a massive majority.”
He also targeted chief minister Bhagwant Mann over the publicity hoardings put up by the AAP government, alleging that Mann was not representing the interests of Punjabis.
“Bhagwant Mann is not the chief minister of Punjabis. He is the chief minister of the AAP leadership in Delhi, which is exploiting Punjab’s resources,” Channi alleged.
Earlier, while addressing a gathering in Samrala during the yatra, Channi ruled out any possibility of the party entering into an alliance with the AAP.
When Channi’s yatra reached Fountain Chowk, Kapil Sidhu, district president of AAP’s SC wing, staged a protest by waving black flags at the Congress leader, questioning his commitment to the Dalit community.
Warring camp skips yatra
Factional differences within the Congress came to the fore on Friday as Ludhiana MP and former Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and his loyalists stayed away from the programme.
The absence of several prominent local leaders, including former MLAs representing key assembly segments of the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency, exposed the apparent lack of coordination within the party’s district unit.
During the press conference, Channi ducked the question about the absence of the Ludhiana MP and other senior leaders.
Warring and four former MLAs considered close to him remained conspicuous by their absence.
Even as the cavalcade passed through their respective constituencies, former MLA and incumbent Ludhiana Urban Congress president Sanjay Talwar, six-time former MLA Rakesh Pandey and three-time former MLA Surinder Kumar Dawar, representing Ludhiana East, North and Central respectively, stayed away.
Former Gill MLA Kuldip Singh Vaid, whose constituency also falls under the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, did not participate either.
One of the former MLAs, who skipped the yatra, said, “Warring is a Lok Sabha MP, but his photograph has not been put up on the Congress hoardings. Channi saab also did not invite anyone from the Ludhiana team except Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Why, then, would we attend or welcome the yatra? He should have finalised the Ludhiana route plan in coordination with Warring, but that never happened.”
