E-Paper
Cong, AAP, SAD sowing seeds of caste, religious dissension: Capt
Capt Amarinder said the SAD had started the divisive campaign by announcing a Dalit deputy CM if elected to power, triggering a mad race to follow suit. The Congress, which had fallen unthinkingly for the Akali ploy, will pay for its mistake in announcing its CM face on caste lines, he warned
Patiala: Lambasting the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Akalis for sowing the seeds of caste and religious dissension in the state, Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said the move would backfire on these parties, who were compromising the peace and security of the border state to further their narrow political interests.
In a hard-hitting attack on the blatant attempt by these parties to polarize the harmonious Punjab society, the former CM said the SAD had started the divisive campaign by announcing a Dalit deputy CM if elected to power, triggering a mad race to follow suit. The Congress, which had fallen unthinkingly for the Akali ploy, will pay for its mistake in announcing its CM face on caste lines, he warned.
“Have these parties ever thought about the consequences such divisiveness could have on a border state like ours,” asked Captain Amarinder, adding that none of these parties will be able to reap the benefit of their separatist policies. It will be the NDA alliance that will form the government in the state, he asserted confidently, adding that the PLC-BJP-SAD Sanyukt coalition will consolidate the votes lost by these parties in the coming days.
Interacting with the media after a public meeting in Patiala, the PLC chief termed as unfortunate the fact that the Punjab polity was currently revolving around casteist and religious narratives. He recalled how caste/religion was never an issue during his childhood days, but with these parties playing the caste card, Punjab was, for the first time, getting divided on such divisive lines.
