Frustrated Akalis using desperate measures for publicity, says Punjab Congress

Chandigarh, October 13, 2016: The Punjab Congress has attacked the SAD government in the state for resorting to cheap and desperate measures to promote the party ahead of the Assembly elections.

Reacting strongly to the attempted use by the party of a funeral van to collect SAD publicity booklets from the SDM’s office in Kharar in Mohali, party leaders said the Badal government had hit a new low in its efforts to pull SAD out of the political abyss it had plunged into. The funeral van driver was forced to flee as people in the area came out in protests. The booklets were later picked up by another vehicle, according to media reports.

Such measures clearly indicated that the Akalis had lost the last vestiges of hope of coming back to power in the state, Punjab Congress leaders Jagmohan Singh Kang, Hardayal Singh Kamboj, Sunder Sham Arora and Harchand Kaur said in a joint statement here. In fact, they said, “it has become more than evident that the corrupt SAD is poised to be completely wiped out of Punjab in the coming Assembly elections, which is pushing them to resort to such extreme measures.”

The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) leaders attacked the Badal government for its continued misuse of official machinery for its vested political interests in blatant violation of the Election Commission directives.

The statement came even as a section of the media reported that the state’s Chief Electoral Officer V.K. Singh had instituted an inquiry into the Congress party’s complaint against abuse of official resources by the SAD government to promote the party.

PPCC had sent a formal complaint to the Election Commission on the issue two days ago, in the wake of reports that the state government had asked government employees to distribute its booklets. In its complaint, PPCC had also cited reports that the government had asked Panchayats to fund its hoardings.