Capt Amarinder connived with Akalis, BJP to harm Punjab’s interests, says CM Channi
Punjab CM accuses Akalis of ignoring SCs, saying they deliberately allotted BSP weak seats to help BJP win from there
Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday accused his predecessor Capt Amarinder Singh of conniving with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP to harm the interests of the state.
Addressing a gathering in the Banga constituency of SBS Nagar district, the CM said, “They will contest the next elections jointly to benefit the BJP. During his tenure, Amarinder secured the interests of the Badal family and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by jeopardising the interests of Punjab. Due to this, the Congress MLAs ousted him. The new party floated by Amarinder is also aimed at benefitting the Akalis and BJP.”
He accused the Akalis of ignoring the interests of the SCs, saying they deliberately allotted the BSP weak seats to help the BJP win from there. “Our government has already reined in the sand and transport mafias and now it’s the turn of the cable mafia being run by the Badal family,” he added.
Channi termed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal as a rumour-monger who is least bothered about Punjab.
Sings praises of his principal secretary
The CM showered praises on his principal secretary Hussan Lal who hails from SBS Nagar district. “I always search for good officers from every district and he is one of them. I am thankful to the district for giving us an officer like Lal who is taking care of my entire work with full diligence. I have sent him to the district with the full powers of the CM to get things done,” said Channi, who is MLA from the Chamkaur Sahib constituency.
The statement is being seen many as a hint by the CM to field Lal as Congress candidate from the Banga (reserved) constituency in the upcoming assembly elections. Lal, a 1995-batch IAS officer and a scheduled caste, hails from Raipur Nangal village of Balachaur sub-division and is set to retire from the service the next year.
Lal, who also briefly addressed the gathering, said he studied in the local government school that had no building in the initial years. Nawanshahr MLA Angad Singh too appreciated Lal.