Chandigarh, March 12:
Punjab Chief
Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has categorically denied any alliance talks
with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), or any other party, for the May 19 Lok Sabha
elections in the state.
The Congress did
not need any alliance in Punjab, nor was it in talks with any party on the
same, Captain Amarinder Singh said in response to a question while talking
informally with media persons after meeting Raj Kumar Verka, Chairman of the
Punjab Warehousing Corporation, at his office. Verka was appointed as the
Chairman of the Corporation last week and he took charge of his office on
Friday.
Asked to comment
on AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s statement that talks for alliance in Punjab
were in progress, the Chief Minister said though he was not aware of such a
statement, the Congress did not need any allies in Punjab.
Exuding massive
confidence about the Congress prospects in the parliamentary elections, the
Chief Minister said the party was gung-ho about these polls, as was evident
from the fact that it had chosen Ahmedabad – the home turf of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi - for the CWC meeting. This clearly showed the level of
enthusiasm in the party, which was literally ready to take the BJP by its
horns, he added.
In response to a
question on the Punjab Congress candidates, Captain Amarinder Singh that the
next meeting was likely to be held in Delhi around the end of this week. There
was no hurry, he said, pointing out that the polling date was more than two
months away, giving the party lot of time to select its candidates. Asked to
comment on the time lag in the polling date for Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh
said it was the Election Commission’s prerogative and he could not, therefore,
say anything on the issue.
Captain
Amarinder Singh made it clear that former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was
never in reckoning for candidature as he had made it clear that he was not
interested in contesting elections. He described his meeting with Dr. Singh in
Delhi on Saturday as a courtesy call, during which he briefed the former Prime
Minister on the Congress plans in Punjab. Asked about the party’s star
campaigner in the state, the Chief Minister said it was up to the Congress high
command to decide the names of the key campaigners for the party in these
elections.
On whether the
IAF air strikes across the LoC would prove beneficial to the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, the Chief Minister said with Indian soldiers
continuing to be killed every day, the air strikes had clearly not proved to be
a deterrent so far against Pak-backed attacks on India.
He reiterated
that no attempts should be made to politicize the Indian forces. He said the
armed forces are apolitical and are above the petty considerations of caste,
religion and political affiliations.
Captain
Amarinder Singh expressed happiness at the fact that the Kartarpur Corridor
project had remained on track despite the recent tensions at the border.
Islamabad had also clarified that the latest events will not have any adverse
effect on the project, he pointed out with satisfaction, adding that the
Corridor was something that people on both sides wanted.
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