Punjab Lok Congress chief and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that their party’s mission was not just to defeat the Congress but to form the next government in the state.
Addressing the party workers while inducting two-time former MP Amrik Singh Aliwal and four ex-MLAs into his newly formed outfit, Amarinder said he was overwhelmed by the response from across the state. “Several sitting and former legislators from the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal would be joining our party very soon,” he said.
Besides Aliwal, former legislators Harjinder Singh Thekedar, Prem Mittal, Farzana Alam and Rajwinder Kaur Bhagike, ex-district Congress committee presidents Jagmohan Sharma and Satvir Singh Palli Jhikki, Punjab Arthiya Association president Vijay Kalra and Patiala mayor Sanjeev Bittu were among those who joined the party.
In the evening, Kalra surfaced at a press conference held by chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi who said that he (Kalra) would remain with the Congress.
Amarinder said that Punjab was under a massive debt of about ₹5 lakh crore, which was about 70% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the state. “This would take generations to repay and the corrective measures are needed to be taken immediately,” he added, wondering from where chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi was going to get the money for his populist announcements. “Probably he knows that the Congress is not going to come back and let the next government bear the brunt.”
{{/usCountry}}Amarinder said that Punjab was under a massive debt of about ₹5 lakh crore, which was about 70% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the state. “This would take generations to repay and the corrective measures are needed to be taken immediately,” he added, wondering from where chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi was going to get the money for his populist announcements. “Probably he knows that the Congress is not going to come back and let the next government bear the brunt.”
{{/usCountry}}He also warned police officials against intimidating his party workers at the behest of some local Congress leaders, saying he would take all necessary measures to come down heavily on such “hooligans” in uniform.
Amarinder was reacting to reports of cops stopping their party workers who were putting up posters in the Malwa region.