The All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said that the decision to contest Lok Sabha elections under the INDIA bloc has been taken in the “larger interest of the country” and it “wasn’t just about Punjab.”
Addressing the first Punjab Congress’s Workers Convention at Samrala, Ludhiana, Kharge said that while in some states the alliance was progressing positively, in some others it wasn’t working out. “But we have to fight, we have to fight alone, till the very end and win. It doesn’t matter who joins us and who doesn’t. The decision to have an INDI alliance has been taken for the entire country, it’s not just about Punjab..” said Kharge, while addressing the party workers. Kharge said that the target was to throw away the BJP-led rule at the Centre for the “betterment of the country.”
While Kharge’s address offered little clarity on the status of the alliance with AAP in Punjab, the state Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring clearly announced that “AAP would face a crushing defeat on all 13 seats in Punjab at the hands of Congress” in the coming Lok Sabha elections. A day earlier on Saturday, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in a rally at Khanna, too had minced no words and announced that party would be contesting all 13 seats in Punjab and one in Chandigarh on its own without any alliance.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Navjot Sidhu once again stayed away from Congress’s official programme and did not attend the convention. However, earlier in a post on X, he he welcomed Kharge to Punjab. Later in another post on X, Sidhu again targeted his own party saying that during both previous Congress tenures in Punjab, the grass root party workers were neglected and only 3 per cent positions (political appointments) were given to them while the rest were grabbed by families and relatives of MLAs.
While a chair with Sidhu’s name was put on the stage, sources close to him said that he wasn’t happy over not getting a proper invite for the convention.
However, Sidhu’s close aides including former PPCC presidents Lal Singh and Shamsher Singh Dullo and former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal were very much in attendance and sat on the stage.
A senior party leader, on Sidhu not being “invited”, said: “If a chair was kept on stage with his name, it clearly means we were expecting him. Was he waiting for an invitation card and a sweets box? It was a workers convention where every MP, MLA and former MLA had to come with his workers and block presidents but Sidhu did not. Why he needed a formal invite if he counts himself as a loyal party soldier.”
Invoking Guru Nanak, Kharge said: “It was Guru Nanak who had given us the word “Hindustan” and had called for unity. We have to keep that Hindustan alive where there’s no discrimination.”
He also launched a scathing attack on Modi and BJP throughout his address. He said that Modi has finished Punjab’s kisan (farmers) and jawan (soldiers) in the ten years of BJP-led rule at the Centre. Kharge said that Punjab was the only state in the country where late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” fits the best. “In some states, there are kisan but no jawan and vice-versa, But Punjab has given the country both kisan and jawan. It is unfortunate that the Modi government has finished them both,” said Kharge.
Kharge also said that even as the Modi government announced to repeal three black farm laws after protests by Punjab farmers, the notification for it hasn’t been issued till now.
“If Congress comes to power, we will issue that notification,” said Kharge. He further said that Modi just made the announcement to repeal the black laws so as to end the Delhi protest by the farmers but there was no confirmation over it till now.
Kharge also announced that the Congress would fully support the “Delhi Chalo” protest march by the farmers, who would again reach the capital on February 13 to fight for their rights. “Congress leaders at all levels would be in touch with farmers and support them in every way,” he said.
Kharge also said that the Modi government which only works for the “corporates” and “not the poor”, has destroyed farmers in the country by not fulfilling their demands such as not providing Minimum Support Price (MSP) and lack of law over it, imposing heavy taxes on farmers and even calling them terrorists. Accusing Modi of calling “farmers as terrorists” for protesting for their rights, Kharge said: “Does such person who calls farmers “terrorists”, just because they protest for their rights, deserves to be elected?”
Kharge further said that the Modi government finished country’s soldiers by bringing in Agniveer scheme. “What youths want is regular, permanent recruitment in the Army, not Agniveer. What will they do after four years,” said Kharge, adding that people must throw BJP out if they want regular recruitments in the Army to resume.
Nehru back in focus
Crediting country’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru for establishing Bhakhra Nangal Dam, Kharge said that Congress and Nehru did a lot for the farmers. “But all that Modi and his party know is to insult him every day. They (BJP) had not even support Mahatma Gandhi when he started anti-British movement, so what else can be expected from them,” said Kharge, adding that it was due to Congress that Punjab farmers got Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana.
“Was it Modi who made Bhakhra-Nangal? Was it Modi who made PAU? And then they ask what did the Congress do in 70 years. We did Green Revolution, White Revolution. Our PM Dr Manmohan Singh promoted medium and small industry in Ludhiana. Sonia Gandhi gave the National Food Security Act to the country,” said Kharge.
In a word of advise for Warring, Kharge said that he must follow Nehru’s words and go door to door. “We can win this election only if we go among the people.”
Invokes Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh
Kharge said that BR Ambedkar had once said that “if a person starts getting worshipped in a democracy, he becomes a dictator.” “Chanting Modi, Modi is not going to get food for the poor,” he said, adding that it was only Congress party which has worked to make India the country that Bhagat Singh had dreamt of.
In a word of advise for Warring, Kharge said that he must follow Nehru’s words and go door to door. “We can win this election only if we go among the people, talk to them and listen to their issues. Such conventions will keep happening. The key is to be among the people.”
AAP a sinking ship, must be ready for crushing defeat : Punjab leaders
From former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi to party state president Warring, all in unison said that Congress would make AAP face a crushing defeat on all 13 seats in Lok Sabha polls.
“AAP is a sinking ship. Who would even want to enter an alliance with them,” said Channi.
Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said that AAP used entire state machinery including government buses and fuel to gather crowds at Khanna rally. He said it wasn’t Bhagwant Mann but “gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria government” in Punjab where “none was safe and there was no rule of law left.”
“Please contest alone. You will be alone only for always,” said Bajwa to AAP. He further urged Kharge to promise that if Congress forms government at the Centre, Punjab’s borders would be opened for trade.
Warring meanwhile said: “We are going to crush AAP on all 13 seats, mark my words. SAD-BJP will also face the same fate. Nishchay kar apni jeet karo,” said Warring.
The only Congress MP missing from the convention was Ludhiana’s Ravneet Singh Bittu. In a post on Facebook, he said he was busy in a religious programme at Mansa.
Empty chairs
While Punjab Congress leaders claimed that there were “overwhelming crowds” at the rally, workers in huge numbers started leaving the venue in the middle of Kharge’s address, leaving chairs empty.
Posting the video of empty chairs on X, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal taking a dig wrote: “Live from Kharge ji’s rally at Samrala. Such a massive turnout..”
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
