Five-time former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday called upon the people of Punjab not to elect those who will ”sell their loyalties to the highest bidder and defect to other parties for personal gains once the elections are over”.
In a statement here, he said there are political opportunists in the fray who are eager for a chance to turn the state into an ”open political mandi”.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch alleged that after the previous elections, 11 of the 20 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had sold themselves to others, betraying the people’s mandate.
”Punjab needs responsible leadership to save it from instability and chaos. Punjab will turn into a lawless state if reckless, adventurous and selfish leaders get a chance to ruin the state,” he said.
Attacking AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Badal claimed, ”If such a person gets a chance, Punjab will lose everything it has because Bhagwant Mann has no guts to stop Kejriwal from robbing the state.” Mann is AAP’s chief ministerial candidate in Punjab.
Addressing a rally in Lambi constituency, Badal alleged that most candidates of the Congress and the AAP had purchased tickets to fight the polls, and if they got elected they would certainly barter away their seats for money and other selfish favours. The former chief minister said the people should make their choice based only on the performance of a political party on its past promises. ”The SAD has always lived up to the commitments it made to the people, be it on free power to farmers and the poor, Shagun scheme, Atta-Daal and old age pension schemes or on expressways and making Punjab a power surplus state,” Badal said.
The SAD leader said he had decided to contest the elections mainly to ”stop outsiders from getting roots in Punjab and enslaving its people”.
”I’m here to ensure political stability in the state as peace and communal harmony are prerequisites for development and progress,” said 94-year-old Badal who is contesting from his home turf Lambi assembly seat.
