Bajwa hits out at Amarinder, blames him for 2012 poll rout

Under attack from Captain Amarinder Singh, Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday hit back at the former chief minister for blaming the party’s shocking defeat in 2012 polls on the Anna Hazare movement.

Under attack from Captain Amarinder Singh, Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday hit back at the former chief minister for blaming the party’s shocking defeat in 2012 polls on the Anna Hazare movement.

“Captain Amarinder Singh has finally conceded that Congress lost due to Anna Hazare’s movement which was against corruption. In 2012 polls when he was Congress face in Punjab, there were corruption charges against him in Amritsar Improvement Trust case and Ludhiana City Centre case. How can he simply shrug off the responsibility?” Bajwa asked.

The war of words between the two leaders has escalated following Amarinder’s demand for Bajwa’s removal from the post, claiming that the Congress graph was on the downside under his leadership. But Bajwa countered that the Congress offered the government to the Akalis “virtually on a platter” in 2012 under Amarinder’s leadership when even Badals had lost all hopes. “People in Punjab know what transpired at that time. We became victim of our own over confidence under his leadership.”

Bajwa said Amarinder was so sure of forming the government that hours before the results started pouring in, he was finalising his team of bureaucrats. “Now he is trying to shift the blame. If he says that the choice of some candidates was wrong, that means he is questioning their selection by the party high command.”

Bajwa alleged that Amarinder was scuttling the Congress campaign against the Akali-BJP government on the drugs issue.