Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today came down hard on the Aam Aadmi Party, dubbing it as "bunch of unprincipled leaders". He said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party will “vanish” from the political arena of the state before the 2017 assembly polls in the wake of ongoing “tug of war” within the party.
“Due to the tug of war, AAP will vanish from political arena of the state before the ensuing Vidhan Sabha elections,” he said.
Badal, talking to media on the sidelines of the Sangat Darshan programme in Amargarh assembly segment, said, “What else could be the fate of the party whose two Parliamentarians’ and one state convenor, besides several other leaders were quitting the party one after another.”
He said it was a clear indication that the “house of cards” will crumble soon.
Feigning ignorance about the “missing” AAP MP Bhagwant Mann, Badal, while taking a jibe at the former, said if need arises, the government will trace Lok Sabha MP as it is the duty of every government to trace the “missing persons”.
Mann yesterday did not attend AAP’s political conference at Chhapar mela in Ludhiana.
Over the dengue issue, the Chief Minister said the state government was fully ready to tackle the menace of vector-borne disease in the state.
“Necessary directions have been given to the health department to take all the preventive steps to control this disease,” he said.
Felicitating the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday, Badal said, “Modi has put the country on the high growth trajectory”.
“Under the visionary leadership of Modi, the country has scripted a new success story in every field due to which India’s prestige has increased manifolds,” he said.
Earlier, addressing the public gatherings during Sangat Darshan in village Khanpur, Lasai, Chaunda and others, the Chief Minister reminded the people about the “notorious” past of Congress.
He said Congress has “irrelevantly meddled” in the social, political, economic and even religious affairs of the state.
Badal alleged that the party had always pursued the “policy of divide and rule” to attain power in the state.
“Due to around 60 years of misrule of Congress, the country is confronting several social maladies like unemployment, illiteracy, poverty and others,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)