Raking up an old issue of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu hugging the Pakistan army chief , Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said the border state’s governance could not be handed over to people who were willing to compromise national security to further their personal and political ambitions.
“Who do you hate more? The soldiers who fire or the one who gives the order?” the former chief minister asked the people of Patiala at a public meeting at Ramlila Maidan, adding that Sidhu could not be relied upon to keep Punjab and India safe from the enemy across the border.
Citing the need for the highest levels of security in Punjab, the former chief minister said the state’s and country’s safety was of paramount importance, which only the PLC alliance, with the support of the BJP-led government at the Centre, could ensure.
Modi, Amit Shah to campaign for alliance in Punjab
Announcing that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah will be coming to Punjab soon to campaign for the PLC-BJP-SAD Sanyukt coalition, Captain Amarinder said the alliance had been crafted in the interest of Punjab and the country.
The state, with its economy in a total shambles, was at a crossroads and needed the Centre’s support to go ahead, he said, adding that Punjab was reeling under a debt of ₹70,000 crore with Charanjit Singh Channi adding another ₹33,000 crore in just 111 days.
{{/usCountry}}The state, with its economy in a total shambles, was at a crossroads and needed the Centre’s support to go ahead, he said, adding that Punjab was reeling under a debt of ₹70,000 crore with Charanjit Singh Channi adding another ₹33,000 crore in just 111 days.
{{/usCountry}}For Punjab’s survival, it is necessary that the state and the Centre work together, said Captain Amarinder, adding that he personally has had cordial relations with Modi since the latter was the chief minister of Gujarat and the RSS prabhari for Punjab.
Development and security plans for state
Listing out his priorities for the state, Capt Amarinder Singh said while he had ensured 22 lakh new jobs and investment worth ₹1 lakh crore during his tenure, much more was needed to be done to ensure the state’s progress. “I want to ensure that Punjab’s children don’t go abroad for higher education and jobs,” he said.
The former chief minister identified improving the state’s water situation and agriculture as key priorities. He said that he had conceived surface river water supply for five cities, including Patiala, and had given jobs and ₹5 lakh compensation to the families of each of the 460 farmers who died in the recent agitation against the farm laws.
Sanjeev Sharma Bittu, the PLC candidate from Patiala Rural, said that a double engine regime will transform both Patiala and Punjab. For 10 years under the Akali regime, Patiala had received stepmotherly treatment, he recalled, adding that the development work done here under the Captain Amarinder Singh government was just the beginning of what the region could achieve.