Badals not only maha chors, but also golak chors: Capt Amarinder

AMRITSAR, November 6: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh today asked the Akalis, particularly the Badals to explain the massive deficit in the Darbar Sahib. “They are not only the maha-chors, but also the golak chors as well”, he remarked, while pointing out how they had been misusing the funds for their personal interests.

Addressing a massive rally here today, he said, for last five years the Badals had looted Punjab all around. “Whether it is the sand, liquor, transport, cable and now the golak, they have not spared anything”, he said, while pointing out how the Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal’s family has continuously grown richer and richer and how Punjab is getting poorer.

Asserting that the Badals had not even spared the Guru’s money, he pointed out, for the first time in the history, Darbar Sahib had shown a deficit of Rs 24 crores. He asked, where did the money go despite huge offerings made daily by the devotees. “And they feel agitated if I call them thieves”, he remarked while asking, “how do you address a thief…only as a thief?”

Lashing out at Majithia MLA Bikram Singh Majithia for his bullying and intimidating tactics, Capt Amarinder said, “whole of Punjab knows his history”. He disclosed that one of Majithia’s ancestors Ranjodh Singh Majithia had ran away from battle of Aliwal while leaving his men behind. “Today he is trying to act as a bully, but let me remind him of his past as how his ancestor ran away from the battle”, he said.

Making a fervent appeal to the people, particularly the Congress workers, Capt Amarinder told them that now was the time to avenge all the humiliation, victimisation and intimidation suffered during last five years. “The day is not far away when we will hang all of them upside down who victimised our Congress workers, be they the Akali jathedars or some select police officers”, he warned.

The PCC President said that every section of the society was alienated and disillusioned with the Akali-BJP government. He pointed out, this government had even failed on old age pension and shagun scheme as the funds had been diverted to Mr Badal’s sangat darshan programme. He disclosed that during his tenure he had dedicated a consolidated fund of Rs 540 crores for the welfare schemes so that everybody got the shagun money and the old age pension on the first date of every month. “But the Akalis discontinued with that scheme”, he said

Speaking on the occasion, the party incharge for Punjab, Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak said that there was a total mood for change in Punjab. He said, the virtual result of the Punjab elections will be declared at the end of the current rallies when entire Punjab would have come out in support of Congress to throw Akalis out.

He said, only the Congress could take the country and the state forward. He said, the way people have been coming out in large numbers to participate in the Congress rallies was enough indication as how much fed up they were with this government.

Mr Charak announced that Congress President Ms Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the general secretary Mr Rahul Gandhi will also be visiting Punjab in the next phase.

Addressing the rally Congress Legislative Party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal accused Badals of having betrayed the panth. She said, they claim themselves to be the guardians of the panthic interests, but actually they have stabbed the panth in the back by exploiting people for personal ends.

Having a dig at the BJP, she pointed out how shabbily its leaders had been treated. “You should feel ashamed at the treatment being meted out to you”, she told the BJP leaders and pointed out how party MLA Anil Joshi was beaten up and manhandled by the Akali workers and the BJP had not even protested.

The Congress Working Committee Member Jagmeet Brar lashed out at the massive corruption of the Badal family and referred to the High Court notice to Badals for grabbing transport business. He condemned the staging of semi-nude dance at Bathinda in presence of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal.

Among those who addressed the rally included OP Soni, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Prof Darbari Lal, Jasbir Singh Dimpa, Harjit Singh Thekedar, Sardul Singh, Lali Majithia, Sukh Sarkaria and others.