In a setback for the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took a jibe at the 'Grand Old Party' saying "Ek Thi Congress" while responding to media when asked about reluctance of state Congress leaders to having an alliance with Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and Punjab, ahead of Lok Sabha elections this year.
Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh, CM Bhagwant Mann said, "In Punjab and Delhi, mothers can tell the world's shortest story to their children - Ek Thi Cong (there was once a Congress)."
Earlier, when asked about the issue of seat adjustment among I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners, Mann said these matters would be discussed in the alliance meeting and added, "Only after things are finalised we will be able to tell".
"We are fighting for the country. If the Constitution is saved, then everything else will remain," he said.
Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is in power in Delhi and Punjab, and the Congress are among the 28 constituents of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc formed to take on the BJP in the upcoming general elections.
When Mann was asked about Congress leaders reportedly telling their party high command that the party would be wiped out in polls if it allied with AAP, the chief minister took a swipe at the opposition party saying, "Te hun ki hoya hai unada (Is their state of affairs any different now)".
He ended his press conference with his "shortest story" jibe at the Congress.
Notably, many Punjab Congress leaders including Partap Singh Bajwa had earlier said the sentiments of party cadre in the state are against any alliance with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
With inputs from PTI
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