December 5, Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday rejected charges of ‘Parivarvad’ behind Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president.
Speaking to the media after nominating Rahul for the top Congress post, Amarinder said, “The Congress vice-president had the support of the people, with 100% of the party workers favouring his elevation. The response he has been evoking in recent months on various fora, including the ongoing election campaign in Gujarat, indicates his popular support base.”
Terming the AICC election as the party’s internal business, Amarinder added that even other like-minded parties had no problems with Rahul taking over the Congress reins.
Calling for Rahul’s projection as the prime ministerial candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Amarinder said Rahul had generated massive enthusiasm in the party with his ability to connect with the youth.
On Gujarat assembly polls, Amarinder said the Congress was on the upswing, with Rahul’s rallies getting a massive response, in contrast to the campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Later, in an interview to a TV channel, the CM, referring to the ensuing MC polls in Punjab, said all elections were a challenge, and in this case, the aspirations of the people were extremely high.
He pointed out that his government was gradually implementing promises made during the assembly elections, with farm debt waiver also set to commence this month.
On the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said, “It continues to be on the downslide, while the Akalis still remained in the bad books of the people and would lose again if elections were to be held today.”
“The Akalis had made a mess of everything, he said, adding that his government was trying to set things right,” he added.
To a question on the drugs case against AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Amarinder dismissed him as an over-ambitious politician and an ‘erratic’ individual who was not worth commenting upon. The CM reiterated that the decision to hand over the targeted killing cases to the NIA was prompted by the fact that the central agency was better-equipped to handle these cases, given their international ramifications.
News Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com
