By PTI
CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab minister and senior Congress chief Balbir Singh Sidhu on Sunday stated that the Congress management scripted its personal defeat by giving energy to turncoats and opportunists who have been alien to the Congress, its historical past and tradition.
Reacting to the celebration’s drubbing within the Punjab meeting polls, Sidhu stated, “The decline of the party’s prospects started the day Sunil Jakhar, a dyed-in-wool Congressman, was replaced by an outsider Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had joined the Congress just four years ago.”
Asserting that the Congress “committed one blunder after another”, Balbir Sidhu stated eradicating Amarinder Singh because the chief minister proved to be the final straw that broke the camel’s again which finally led to the “complete collapse” of the celebration and the federal government.
Amarinder Singh was unseated from the chief minister’s submit final 12 months following a bitter feud between him and Navjot Singh Sidhu.
In a press release right here, the previous well being minister stated the celebration’s third mistake was refusing to nominate Sunil Jakhar because the chief minister simply because he was a Hindu, regardless of the help of an amazing majority of the celebration MLAs and the secular character and tradition of the Congress.
“If the Congress had believed in politics of religion, Giani Zail Singh wouldn’t be the president, Dr Manmohan Singh wouldn’t be the prime minister and Buta Singh wouldn’t be the home minister,” he stated.
“All this was followed by the appointment of Charanjit Singh Channi, who again was not a real Congressman, as he had tried his luck with the Shiromani Akali Dal and the People’s Party of Punjab before joining the Congress. The Congress party and the government was handed over to rank outsiders,” Balbir Sidhu asserted.
He stated the way in which the celebration arbitrarily denied tickets to senior and veteran leaders like Amrik Singh Dhillon, Jagmohan Singh Kang, Ajaib Singh Bhatti and Kewal Singh Dhillon was one more deadly mistake by the Congress management.
“It was strange and surprising that the party looked like it was in a race with itself in repeating one blunder after another to cause its own doom,” he stated.
The three-time former MLA from Mohali identified that simply earlier than the appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu because the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president, everybody was of the unanimous view that the Congress will repeat itself in 2022.
“But the countdown for doom started the day Navjot Sidhu took over as the PCC president”, he stated, including that the celebration made no efforts to reign him in.
Balbir Sidhu stated the way in which the Punjab Congress chief and the chief minister indulged in open disagreement, placing the celebration in a state of “civil war”, left the sphere vast open for the opposition.
“People got fed up with this civil war and they decided to teach us a lesson,” he stated.
Besides, Balbir Sidhu stated, “The language used by Navjot Sidhu and Channi during the campaign antagonised a large section of the electorate.”
While Navjot Sidhu allegedly addressed former minister Anil Joshi as a “kaala Brahmin”, Channi allegedly used derogatory language in opposition to the migrant inhabitants.
This antagonised sure communities and so they voted in opposition to the Congress not solely in Punjab, but additionally in Uttar Pradesh, he stated.
The former minister stated as an alternative of proudly owning up accountability, these accountable have been “shamelessly” glorifying themselves as if that they had received “Param Vir Chakra”.
He stated these answerable for the debacle should be made accountable, lest the Congress acquired “destroyed beyond redemption”.
The Aam Aadmi Party romped house with 92 of the 117 meeting seats by decimating the Congress and the SAD-BSP mix.