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Rahul Gandhi Targets AAP, Raises Punjab Drug Menace (Img: Dynamite News)
Sangrur: Sounding the party's bugle in Punjab, Congress Supremo Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday targeted the AAP government on multiple fronts, called 'chitta' (heroin) a major issue in the state, and recalled his interaction with slain singer Sidhu Moosewala.
"Many years back, I had said that drugs are spreading in Punjab. The BJP and the Akali Dal at that time said Rahul Gandhi does not know anything about Punjab, downplaying the drug menace. Today, 'chitta' is a major issue in the state", Gandhi said at an 'Insaaf Rally' here, kicking off the Congress' poll campaign ahead of the Punjab elections due early next year.
"People need a government that works for Punjab. Not like AAP, which is run from Delhi," said the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. "Tell me, which poll promise did it fulfil?" Rahul asked the crowd, urging them to vote for Congress for jobs and drugs-free Punjab.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, its Punjab in-charge Sachin Pilot, state Congress chief Pargat Singh, and senior state leaders Pratap Bajwa, Vijay Inder Singla, Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring were present at the rally and spoke at the rally.
Gandhi also reiterated his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an open debate on the latter's charge that Congress is anti-national. "Come anywhere, sit with me and debate," he said.
Party Chief Mallikarjun Kharge described the AAP as the most corrupt government, and said it is the B team of the BJP. Kharge recalled the vision of Man Mohan Singh in shaping the Indian economy and taking economic reforms forward.
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Congress deliberately chose Sangrur, Malwa region, as the venue; not only did the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann belong to this district, but also Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and AAP's Punjab President Aman Arora belonged to Sangrur. Malwa region constitutes nearly 60 per cent of the total seats of 117.
Congress dominated the Malwa in 2017 before AAP swept most of its constituencies five years later.
Another sensitive issue concerns the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa. His father, Bhim Singh, has publicly asked Rahul Gandhi not to visit the family protest, saying he feared being excommunicated from the Sikh Panth, i.e., he met a member of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's family.
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The rally comes amid factional differences within the Punjab Congress, making organisational unity another challenge as the party prepares to contest the elections.
