“Captain Amarinder Singh was genuinely feudal but Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is worse. He is living like a king with thousands of security men and misusing state choppers. He is totally disconnected with the people on the ground,” said Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira in an interview with News18 in Sangrur, the constituency that will go to polls in the last phase of Lok Sabha election on June 1.
On paper, it is Sukhpal Singh Khaira versus Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer in Sangrur in Punjab. But on the face of it, it’s Khaira versus Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in a ‘grudge match’ in the latter’s backyard. The seat incidentally is held by Simranjit Singh Mann who openly espouses the Khalistan cause and won Sangrur in a by-poll in 2022 after Bhagwant Mann gave up his seat to become the CM.
But for Khaira, the number one enemy here is AAP and the CM. Khaira spent four months in jail in a drug case after the AAP government arrested him last year, and got bail this January. Now, Khaira aims to snatch Sangrur from the CM who was born in Sangrur and was a two-time MP here.
AAP’s Fort Will Crumble: Khaira
“It is not a personal fight but somehow the CM created such circumstances by falsely putting people behind bars. He has become habitual of trying to misuse the police and intimidate his opponents, he sent me to jail and slapped five criminal cases on me. Congress thought fit to field me from here. They think it is their fort but it will crumble on June 4 and it had already crumbled in 2022 when AAP lost this seat in a by-poll,” Khaira told News18 amidst hectic campaigning.
Khaira was associated with the AAP between 2015 and 2017 before he floated his own party and then re-joined the Congress. He now says that Bhagwant Mann as CM has turned out worse than Captain Amarinder Singh. “At any point of time, there are scores of cars in his cavalcade, he is surrounded by scores of security men and he has hardly been to any village of Punjab in the last two years. He is just enjoying his time as the CM and has no connect with people,” Khaira said.
The three-time Congress MLA from Bholath, Khaira also said the last two years in Punjab have been of “complete misrule” and promises not being fulfilled though people had voted for change. “On the contrary, the ethics and moralities that Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann promised in politics have been broken by them with impunity. Kejriwal and Mann are often seen with scores and scores of security guards, 1000 men are posted in the security of the CM and his family. Captain Amarinder Singh was genuinely a feudal but they have broken even his records, they are living like kings and are misusing state choppers,” Khaira told News18.
Rajya Sabha Picks Insulted Punjab
Khaira said what has further upset Punjabis is the Rajya Sabha picks of AAP from Punjab which included the likes of non-Punjabis including Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, and known businessmen Ashok Mittal and Sanjiv Arora rather than any intellectual or an aam aadmi. “AAP promised a Swaraj model and said they will ask people and party volunteers before taking decisions. But look at who they elected as 7 Raja Sabha members – Ashok Mittal, owner of a private university who is worth Rs 25,000 crore and a businessman from Delhi Sanjiv Arora who no one knows in Punjab – are these any aam aadmi,” Khaira asked News18.
Khaira said senior AAP leaders but non-Punjabis like Raghav Chadha and Sanjeev Pathak also had no reason to become Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab. “Worse, their Rajya Sabha MPs never spoke in support of Arvind Kejriwal when he was jailed. These were all business people who will never defend them or take on the establishment. AAP leadership has lost the confidence of their own cadres,” Khaira told News18.
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