Sukhbir rubbishes Cong allegations of rigging in MC polls

Chandigarh, Aug 9 (UNI) Dismissing the ''hue and cry by the Congress'' over the conduct of the Municipal Corporation (MC) polls in four cities of Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) acting president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the elections were conducted in a free and peaceful manner.

''The Congress should come out with specific instances of rigging, rather than creating a ruckus after it lost all the MCs of Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar,'' he said while addressing a media conference here today.

Rather than expressing their gratitude to the people of Punjab for exercising their franchise, the Congress leaders were questioning the very outcome of the poll, he said. '' This means they have no faith in the voters of Punjab,'' he said while thanking the voters for the mandate they had given to the SAD-BJP combine in the four cities yesterday.

He described former chief minister Amarinder Singh's demand for a repoll in Patiala as absurd and without any logic. ''The truth is that Capt Singh cannot take defeat in his own home town,'' he added.

Replying to a question, he attributed the victory of the SAD-BJP in the MC polls to the faith that the people of Punjab had in the policies and programmes of the Punjab Government. The people saw and analysed the performance of the state government in the last five months and then exercised their franchise, he added.

Mr Badal said the SAD-BJP government would fulfill all promises made to the people of Punjab during the assembly polls. ''As head of the SAD, I will monitor the progress of the government because the party has given an agenda to the government to fulfill,'' he added.

Rubbishing reports that he may succeed his father and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the near future, he quipped, ''Badal sahib (CM) will remain at the helm of affairs for a long time to come.'' He claimed that the Chief Minister was more active and physically fitter than most of the Akali leaders.

UNI