Chandigarh, Oct 31 — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab President Kewal Singh Dhillon on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) following the announcement of its first list of 40 candidates.
He said the list is not a list of 40 candidates, but of 40 people responsible for Punjab’s destruction.
He added that instead of featuring individuals known for their integrity and commitment to public service, the list included leaders embroiled in serious allegations and controversies.
He said the AAP government was misleading people by putting up hoardings across Punjab proclaiming an ‘Honest Chief Minister’.
Given the prevailing situation in the state, he remarked that these hoardings should instead read ‘Dishonest Chief Minister’. Several candidates on the list, he alleged, were facing accusations of corruption, fraud, money laundering and other serious offences.
Dhillon said that whether AAP announces its candidates now or later, the people of Punjab would not accept them again.
Punjab has already fallen victim to the party’s false promises once and will not be misled a second time. The BJP state President said that AAP’s promise of change had come at a high cost to Punjab, with the government failing on every front.
He alleged that the party’s leaders and MLAs, who came to Punjab after facing defeat in Delhi, had exploited the state for the past five years and were now preparing to do so again.
He asserted that the people of Punjab would never tolerate another attempt to plunder the state. Dhillon said that AAP had devastated Punjab over the past five years. The leaders whom the party has fielded again have been in power for nearly five years and are equally responsible for the state's decline.
Taking the government to task over law and order, he said the situation in Punjab had deteriorated to such an extent that there was virtually no fear of the law.
Murders, extortion and incidents of gunfire had become commonplace.
He further alleged that the government had failed miserably to curb the drug menace, with young people continuing to fall victim to drug abuse every day.