Rahul Gandhi claimed that Congress removed Captain Amarinder Singh as CM because he refused to provide free electricity to poor people in Punjab.
NEW DELHI: Possibly breaking his silence for the time over the unceremonious exit of Capt Amarinder Singh as Punjab CM, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that the party veteran failed to solve Punjab’s electricity issues.
While addressing a rally in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib, the Congress leader said that Capt Amarinder Singh also had ‘close links with the BJP’. Rahul further claimed that Congress removed Captain Amarinder Singh because he refused to provide free electricity to poor people in Punjab.
“I will tell you why Capt Amarinder Singh was removed as the CM of Punjab. It is because he did not agree to provide free electricity to the poor people,” Rahul Gandhi said. “He said I have a contract with the Power supplying companies,” Rahul Gandhi told the vast gathering of Congress supporters.
Calling Amarinder Singh an ‘arrogant person’, Rahul claimed that he had never seen him hug a poor person, unlike incumbent CM Charanjit Singh Channi.
Referring to the drug menace, Rahul said, “I kept saying, drugs are a threat to the country. I’m saying this again, Punjab is not a state where experiments should be done. Development & growth will be meaningless in Punjab if drugs continue to destroy lives of youth here.’’
It may be recalled that Capt Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister in September last year following a bitter power tussle with state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The Punjab Congress veteran later quit the party and floated his own political outfit – Punjab Lok Congress (PLC). The PLC is now contesting the state assembly polls in alliance with the BJP and the Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).
Punjab goes to the polls on February 20. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
