Congress candidate for Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll Sunil Jakhar today lashed out at the BJP government at the Centre, accusing it of adopting "anti-people policies" and pushing people into a "state of regression".
Addressing party workers in the run up to the October 11 by-election, he rubbished the AAP's claims that he was an "outsider" and focused on critical issues like farmers' welfare, development and illegal mining.
"Vinod Khanna, the former MP, whose death has necessitated this by-election, was also an outsider, as was Amarinder Singh when he defeated Arun Jaitley in Amritsar parliamentary constituency," the Punjab Congress chief said.
Jakhar claimed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has already "conceded defeat" and listed the "glaring failures" of the BJP-led government at the Centre and the SAD-BJP dispensation which "misruled Punjab for a decade".
Lambasting the "anti-people" policies of the BJP government at the Centre, he said, "Demonetisation and GST have broken the backbone of the common people while the spiralling prices of essential commodities, including diesel, petrol and LPG, continue cause unbearable suffering to them."
Hitting out at the Modi government, Jakhar said in contrast to the nation-building work undertaken by the Congress, the BJP government has pushed the people into a "state of regression".
Exuding confidence about his victory, he said votes would be polled in the name of the Congress and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who has put the people of Punjab back on the "path of progress".
Alleging that SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had not given a single penny to the farmers when his party was in power in the state in alliance with the BJP, the state Congress chief said besides loan waiver for the farmers, Amarinder has strengthened the agrarian system of the state.
Jakhar said he would ensure all-round development of all sections of the society, including farmers, youth and ex- servicemen and promised to take their issues to the Lok Sabha if he wins the bypoll.
He assured the Congress workers that he would ask state tourism and culture minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to resolve the issue of dam construction near the Mukteshwar Dham temple.
About the alleged Rs 31,000 crore food grain scam during the Akali dispensation, Jakhar said he would aggressively pursue the matter in the Lok Sabha to ensure that every paisa comes back to the government exchequer.
The Congress leader said even though his term as a Lok Sabha member would be for just around 18 months, he would make all-out efforts to ensure the development of the constituency.
Jakhar hit out at BJP candidate for the bypoll Swarn Salaria, saying he had "failed" to manage his own Chintpurni Medical College properly.
He also accused BJP's Punjab chief Vijay Sampla of making false claims about the nation's development under the party's rule at the Centre.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)