SAD alleges Congress forcing people to attend Amarinder Singh's rally, says it is desperate to put up 'face-saving show'

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Thursday alleged that the Congress was “forcing” people to attend Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s rally on 7 October at Lambi.

Singh will hold the rally at Lambi, home turf of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, to take on him over his “misleading claims” on sacrilege incidents, while Akali will hold a rally at Patiala, Singh’s home constituency on the same day.

“Congress party’s desperation to put up a face saving show at Lambi after getting unnerved by the SAD’s historic rally at Faridkot has paralysed government functioning with seven ministers camping at Lambi to force people to come to its aimless and bogus show on 7 October,” senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said in a statement in Chandigarh.

“Despite using all means, including enticement, coercion and even intimidation people were not ready to come to the Congress show until and unless the government fulfilled the promises made to them,” he said.

“The situation has become such that Congress ministers are even being snubbed by party workers who have become thoroughly disillusioned by their own government and are refusing to shepherd people to the sarkari show,” he said.

“This is forcing the ministers to remain in Lambi and use strong-arm tactics to put up a show which has emptied the state secretariat in Chandigarh and adversely affected paddy procurement and lifting of food grains from mandis,” claimed the Akali leader.

Stating that people would have come in droves to the Congress show had the Congress government fulfilled promises made to the public, Majithia said it was condemnable that even now, despite a demand from the people, the government was not ready to commit itself to implement the Rs 90,000 crore loan waiver, Rs 2,500 per month unemployment dole, Rs 2,500 per month old age pension and Rs 51,000 shagun besides other promises.