Malerkotla, Aug 8 (PTI): Congress general secretary in charge for Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, on Saturday said that the people of the state are eagerly waiting to give full mandate to the party in the Assembly elections scheduled early next year. Baghel said that after touring 18 districts across Punjab, he has noticed “overwhelming enthusiasm among the people for the Congress as they are fed up with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government which has completely destroyed the state”.
Speaking during a ‘Har booth, Congress Mazboot’ programme here, Baghel exhorted the Congress workers to unite and get battle ready.
During the event, chaos prevailed briefly as some workers jostled to move close to the stage where Baghel, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and some other leaders were seated, prompting Warring to come down to calm the situation.
Addressing the gathering, Baghel accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of misusing investigating agencies like the Enforcement Directorate against its political opponents.
Warring also exuded confidence that the Congress will form the government in Punjab next year.
“Once the Congress forms the government, we will free sand mining from the clutches of the mafia,” he said.
Warring also asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as to what happened to the Rs 30,000 crore that he and Arvind Kejriwal had claimed would be generated from sand mining at the time of the previous state elections. Calling for police reforms in the state, Warring announced that “after the Congress forms the government, reforms will be initiated to make police accountability mandatory”, which, he said, is important to prevent abuse and registration of “false cases against innocent people”.
Every inquiry officer who orders registration of FIRs will be held accountable and made to compensate for any willfully wrong FIR, Warring said.
The 117-member Punjab Assembly is scheduled to go to polls early next year.
