Gurdaspur bypoll: Congress candidate Jakhar an ‘outsider’, in-laws from Switzerland, says BJP’s Vijay Sampla

BJP Punjab chief Vijay Sampla. (File Photo)

Terming the Congress candidate from Gurdaspur an outsider to the Lok Sabha constituency and giving a new twist to the debate, state BJP president Vijay Sampla said that while BJP candidate Swaran Salaria’s in-laws were based nearby, Jakhar’s in-laws were in Switzerland.

Addressing his maiden press conference in Pathankot after the by-poll was announced, Sampla highlighted Jakhar’s Switzerland connection. “Salaria’s in-laws are situated in Tanda Urmar at the border of Gurdaspur and Jakhar’s in Switzerland. If by chance Jakhar visits his in-laws, then people of Gurdaspur have to go to Switzerland to meet him, Sampla said in all seriousness.

Dismissing the argument that Salaria was also from Mumbai, Sampla asked Jakhar “Please tell me who is an outsider and who is a local? Your paternal village Panjkosi is near Rajasthan border while Swaran Salaria belongs to village Chauhan in Gurdaspur. Swaran Salaria is serving the people of Gurdaspur for the last ten to twelve years but have you ever been to Gurdsapur before elections for more than ten times,” he said.

Traveling time to Salaria’s residence from any corner of Gurdsapur Loksabha is not more than one hour, while it will take a day to reach Jakhar at his residence in Panjkosi Abohar, he added.

Sampla said the Congress government has failed on every front. “You have failed to provide jobs to youths, full farm loan waiver for farmers and homes to dalits. Where are the smart phones for the youth, where is the Rs. 1500 pension for widows and the elderly, where is ghee, sugar and tea which you had added to SAD-BJP’s atta-dal scheme? Have women got 33 percent reservation in government jobs, has selling of drugs stopped, have prices of sand and gravel come down and sand mafia reined in? No. When you haven’t fulfilled all these promises, then why should people of Gurdaspur believe in what ever promises you are making?”he said.

Sampla was accompanied by former Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma, Pathankot Mayor Anil Vasudeva, district BJP president Anil Rampal, state general secretary Jeevan Gupta and state secretary Vineet Joshi.

Commenting to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the BJP president said that the tally of votes of AAP had been decreasing in every election in Gurdaspur. Their votes have gone down by around 50,000 in the assembly polls as compared to 2014 when Sucha Singh Chhottepur contested and there votes will further deplete, he said.