Evading to be drawn into the debate of contest between him and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal in Lok Sabha polls, Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Saturday asked her to clear her stand on her candidature.

Commenting on statement by Harsimrat that she is always ready to contest against him, Manpreet said he doesn’t want to get into this (debate).

“She is saying that she wants to contest from Bathinda, but it is for her party to decide about her candidature. She should clarify whether she is contesting from Bathinda or not,” he added.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Harsimrat had defeated Manpreet, a Congress candidate, by a margin of about 19,000 votes. Reacting to her claim that defeat in previous Lok Sabha elections still rankles him, Manpreet said Harsimrat and her family could not stomach the fact that he has again become finance minister of the state.

Asked if he will contest elections from Bathinda, Manpreet said he would do whatever Congress president Rahul Gandhi will ask him to do.

Commenting on the Punjabi Ekta Party chief, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, announcement of contesting polls from Bathinda, he said in democracy, everyone had right to vote and contest, but it was up to people to decide who would win.

On nine SAD and BJP councillors having joined the Congress in past few months, he said the party did not aim to topple the mayor as people of city had given mandate for this.

First Published: Mar 16, 2019 22:08 IST