Ticket denial to Charanjit Channi's brother proves Congress used him to get SC votes: Raghav Chadha

In its first list of 86 candidates, the Congress on Saturday had given the ticket to sitting legislator Gurpreet Singh GP from Bassi Pathana (SC) seat which was being eyed by Channi's brother Manohar Singh

Raghav Chadha. File photo

PTI

Chandigarh, January 17

By denying tickets to the brother and another relative of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, the Congress has proved that it had made him CM merely for “using him as a tool" to get the Scheduled Caste votes, AAP leader Raghav Chadha alleged on Monday.

In its first list of 86 candidates, the Congress on Saturday had given the ticket to sitting legislator Gurpreet Singh GP from Bassi Pathana (SC) seat which was being eyed by Channi's brother Manohar Singh.

Singh on Sunday announced to fight as an independent from this seat.

Channi's brother had been demanding the Congress ticket for contesting from the Bassi Pathana seat, Chadha told reporters here, adding, “But he was denied the ticket.”

Similarly, Channi's relative Mohinder Singh Kaypee, who wanted the ticket from Adampur seat in Jalandhar, was also denied it, said Chadha, alleging Kaypee was denied the ticket because he was Channi's relative.

Chadha, however, said the ruling party gave tickets to the sons of Fatehgarh Sahib MP Amar Singh and minister Brahm Mohindra.

“Manohar Singh was not given the ticket because he was Channi's brother. The Congress has proved that the party used Channi saab. We could say that Channi saab was made the chief minister only for using him to take votes of the Dalit community,” he said.

“Channi saab does not have any say in the party that he could take two tickets for his family,” he said in a dig at the ruling party.

“It appears Channi was used as a tool by the Congress to appease people of a particular community,” he alleged.

The Congress appointed Channi as the Punjab chief minister last year after Amarinder Singh was made to resign. Channi is Punjab's first Dalit CM.

Chadha alleged that the Congress in the past had appointed Sushilkumar Shinde as the chief minister of Maharashtra for a few months to woo votes of a particular community and later after the elections, Shinde was removed.

Chadha said party leader Arvind Kejriwal would announce the name of the party's chief ministerial face on Tuesday.

“The official announcement of the name of AAP's CM face for the 2022 state assembly polls will be made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday,” said Chadha, who is the party co-in-charge of Punjab affairs.

Chadha said it would be only the Aam Aadmi Party which would go to the state assembly polls with the chief ministerial face.

He said none of the other political parties including the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP had announced the name of their chief ministerial candidate.

Around 15 lakh people responded to the AAP's 'Janta Chunegi Apna CM' drive in which the party is asking the people to name the party candidate who will be their choice for the CM face for the February 20 Punjab assembly polls.