CM vows to wipe out SAD-BJP combine in Assembly Polls

Muktsar, Jan 13 (UNI) Addressing a political conference organised here by the Congress Party on the auspicious occasion of Maghi fair here, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today vowed to wipe out the SAD-BJP combine in the upcoming assembly elections.

''People are fed up with the tall claims of SAD just to woo the voters with an eye on the elections and Akalis do not have any political agenda to pursue their election campaign. Therefore, they were bent upon indulging in mudslinging and brickbatting in an attempt to demoralise the Congress,'' Captain Singh said.

But the morale of rank and file in the Congress party was high and nobody could browbeat them, the Chief Minister said.

''The position of Congress was strong enough as the masses had acknowledged the pro-people and development-oriented programmes of the state government. The unprecedented development undertaken by the Congress was a testimony to our sole commitment to make Punjab the leading state in the nation,'' he said.

Capt Singh also asserted that there was no anti-incumbency wave against Congress and said this had already been proved with the tremendous response to his Vikas Yatra in the Majha, Malwa and Doaba region.

Reacting sharply to the SAD President Parkash Singh Badal's apprehensions that he and his son Sukhbir Badal was under a threat to life from him, Ravinder Singh, Jasbir Singh Rode and a central agency, Capt Singh today sought to assure both the Akali leaders that their life was fully secured.

Mr Badal was deliberately making such ''irresponsible statements'' out of frustration because he had realised that their defeat in the impending assembly elections was imminent, Capt Singh said.

Lashing out at the Badals, he said, ''Had Parkash Singh Badal least concern for the welfare of the people he would have taken bold initiatives on sharing of river waters, revival of industrialisation, diversification of agriculture, augmentation of power and fiscal management like us but he had totally ignored all this just to promote his own clan.'' He said he was confident that Mr Badal would finally be punished for his misdeeds as the Supreme Court had recently allowed prosecution against him at the lower court at Ropar which was in progress.

In an interaction with the mediamen later, Capt Singh said the party's election manifesto and allotment of tickets would be finalised within two days.

UNI