Punjab Polls: Badal welcomes Amarinder's decision to contest from Lambi seat

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday welcomed state Congress president Amarinder Singh’s decision to contest from Lambi assembly constituency against him and expressed confidence that people of Lambi would not fall prey to his machinations.

Comparing Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with the ‘dharvis’ (attackers, robbers), Badal said though he welcomed the decision of Amarinder to contest from Lambi seat as anyone was free to contest from any seat in the state, he was confident that people of Lambi would not fall prey to their machinations.

Amarinder had on Saturday said he had sought the party high command’s permission to fight the election from Lambi assembly to ensure the “total defeat” of the Akali leadership in the state.

Addressing a rally in Nawanshahr, Badal termed both Congress and AAP as “anti-Punjab” parties which would “ruin” the state if anyone of the two came to power.

“The current poll can be termed as a fight between ‘vikas’ (development), represented by SAD-BJP and ‘vinaash’ (ruin), represented by Congress and AAP,” he said, alleging that both the parties had colluded with the anti-social elements and were inciting them to resort to anti-democratic steps like hurling of shoes at the SAD leaders.

Badal claimed that SAD-BJP alliance was committed to ensure development of all sections of the society.

Lambasting AAP, he said that the party neither cared for the ethos of the state nor was it aware of its culture.  Terming AAP as “att di dushman” (highly anti-Punjab) and its people, Badal said that though the state of Delhi was full of people from Punjab, the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal had not appointed even a single Punjabi as its minister.

He urged the people to not fall prey to the “false promises” of AAP as many of them like waiving of loans were not practical at all.

Terming SAD-BJP alliance as an “alliance for development, peace and communal harmony”, Badal said the forthcoming election was highly crucial as it would decide whether the state would choose the path of development or destruction (if AAP or Congress came to power).