Thaindian News

Talwandi Sabo (Punjab), Nov 1 (IANS) Setting an aggressive political tone for the likely assembly election in February-March next year, Punjab Congress president and former chief minister Amarinder Singh asked Congress workers Tuesday to pick up ‘lathis’ (sticks) against the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal workers.

Accusing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is the Akali Dal president and Punjab deputy chief minister, of running a dictatorial and corrupt regime on the lines of dictators like Muammar Gadaffi, Saddam Hussein and Hosni Mubarak, Amarinder said that the Badal regime would be overthrown in the forthcoming elections in a democratic way.

“Pick up lathis against the Akalis and hit them twice if they tried to hit them once,” Amarinder Singh said in this Sikh holy city near Bathinda town in south-west Punjab Tuesday as he addressed the ‘Punjab Bachao Yatra’ (Save Punjab tour) by the Congress party.

He accused the ruling party of victimizing Congress leaders and workers.

The event also saw warring leaders of the Congress, including Amarinder’s detractors, former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and senior leader Jagmeet Singh Brar, coming together for the Congress campaign against the Akali Dal government.

“The Badals should learn some lessons from the fate the dictators like Gaddafi, Hosni Mubarak and earlier Saddam Hussein met. Gaddafi had amassed billions of dollars but had to run for his life at the end,” Amarinder Singh said.

Amarinder Singh said that Badal had wasted his life even after becoming chief minister of Punjab four times and had not a single achievement to his credit.

He said the Badals had built super luxury hotels in Gurgaon worth hundreds of crores of rupees and had business interests in mining, cable network, liquor and several other areas.

Congress legislature Party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal lashed out at Badals for wasting the state resources to promote their own interests.