Singla upbeat post Captain’s word on candidature
Nikhila Pant Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, October 24
On his maiden trip to the city after Captain Amarinder Singh announced to recommend his name for the Bathinda (Urban) seat, former finance minister Surinder Singla expressed his satisfaction with the kind of support that he was getting from local Congressmen.
Singla also expressed the hope that the Congress would come to power in the state under the leadership of the PPCC president.
Unfazed with the so-called Aam Aadmi Party wave sweeping across the state, Singla said AAP was slowly failing to garner the attention of the voters as its convener Arvind Kejriwal had begun indulging in dual talks.
“On the one hand, Kejriwal keeps complaining that the Central government doesn’t let him have his way and on the other hand, he claims that he has worked hard towards reducing tax burden on the public in Delhi. Kejriwal says that he will do the same in Punjab. These claims don’t hold any ground since soon the GST will be implemented,” Singla said.
The Congress leader accused Kejriwal of back-stabbing his mentor Anna Hazare to satiate his hunger for power.
Targeting the Badal family for “neglecting Bathinda”, Singla said it was a pity that despite being in power in the state and also having a family member as Cabinet Minister at the Centre, the Badal family failed in getting the smart city tag for Bathinda.
“During the past nine years, the SAD-BJP combine couldn’t solve the water-sewerage problem of the city. Garbage management and disposal is also a big problem that the city residents are facing,” he said.
Hailing Captain’s name for the Chief Minister’s post, Singla said Punjab had a primarily agriculture-based economy and if the people of the state wanted to see agricultural boom, they must bring Captain Amrinder Singh to power.
Captain will work towards strengthening the basic infrastructure for agriculture, he added.
Elaborating on his candidature for the Bathinda (Urban) seat for the upcoming Assembly elections, Singla said he had filed his papers in August and till date, more than 6,000 people have sent letters to the party high command supporting his name.
He regretted staying away from Bathinda for many years and promised to work relentlessly for the city and its residents.
