The Congress on Saturday held its second farmers' rally in AAP-ruled Punjab against the India-US trade deal and used the occasion to obliquely target AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in a bid to solidify the party's political relevance in the state a year ahead of the Assembly polls.
The rally in Barnala came a day after a Delhi court discharged former Delhi chief minister Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the liquor policy case.
Although the focus of the speeches was on the trade deal's fallout on farmers of the agrarian state, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge pilloried Kejriwal without taking his name. “Narendra Modi is working to keep our people in bonded labour, and his B-team is also following him…. Crying doesn't help. If you have to fight against injustice, fight like Rahul Gandhi. He walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Show if you can walk like that,” Kharge said.
“If you are a righteous man, then you don’t need to say it. The people of the country should say so. Everyone knows what you people are doing. Even Modi used to say that he was poor,” he added.
The Congress's X handle shared clips of Kharge's speech, specifying in the text that it was directed at Kejriwal. The Congress was the first to allege a scam in the now-shelved Delhi liquor policy, and its leaders have mocked Kejriwal for breaking down outside court after the verdict in his party’s favour.
Kharge also expressed concern over the law and order situation in Punjab, pointing to "extortion threats, drug trafficking and arms smuggling along the border".
He asked how drugs could spread as much as they have in the state, and if chief minister Bhagwant Mann's government was doing anything about it. "How are drugs coming from outside? Both Modi and AAP governments talk big, but are not able to check the drug menace, nor do they want to stop it," Kharge alleged.
At the rally, Rahul Gandhi cautioned against infighting among Congress leaders in Punjab. “Be a team player, or you'll be made to sit on the bench. No matter how big you are, no one is bigger than the party. So be a team player, or Khargeji and I will set you straight,” Rahul said.
Union home minister Amit Shah is expected to kickstart the BJP’s campaign for the Punjab polls at a rally in Moga on March 14, two days before the AAP government is set to mark its fourth year in power in the state.
