Congress state unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday said, "Punjab is only for Punjabis," warning citizens against voting for the Aam Aadmi Party, which is contesting the 2017 Assembly elections there. Singh said the AAP will "unleash chaos and disorder" in the state, just as "he [party chief Arvind Kejriwal] had done in Delhi". "What the Akalis have done to Punjab in 10 years, Kejriwal has done to Delhi in just a year," Singh said, according to PTI.
Singh made the remarks as Kejriwal arrived in Jalandhar on his second visit to the state. Kejriwal said he would end the prevailing "raid raj" in the state, referring to the frequent raids conducted by the ruling government of the Shiromani Akali Dal, which has an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. "It is our observation that 'raid raj', instead of curbing corruption, encourages it among corrupt bureaucrats and inspectors," he said, according to IANS.
Even as the two leaders sparred, the AAP's former Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chotepur said he would float a new party in the state soon to provide the people of Punjab with an alternative to the AAP, SAD-BJP alliance and Congress, Hindustan Times reported. "Punjab cannot be run from Delhi...I will try my best to bring all natural allies on board," he said, adding that he will make the announcement once he complete all registration formalities.
Chotepur also said that cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who recently launched his political forum Aawaaz-e-Punjab, was welcome to join his party as they both spoke about "Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat".
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