Infighting in the Congress refuses to die down as this time, Bathinda Rural Congress candidate Harwinder Singh Laddi has accused finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal of interference in his and Gidderbaha constituency. He said that Manpreet is a traitor and action should be taken against him.
Laddi said this after filing his nomination papers from Bathinda Rural on Monday. He said, “Manpreet Singh Badal is a keera makora (worm) and is a traitor of the party. He is hand in glove with Badals for the Gidderbaha seat where Congress candidate Amarinder Singh Raja Warring is contesting and for my seat (Bathinda Rural) he is conspiring with the AAP. He is organizing meetings in my constituency and is making Congressmen join AAP while in Gidderbaha he is making Congressmen join SAD. However, in Bathinda Urban, many Akalis are joining the Congress. This is a mutual agreement and he is harming the party.”
He added that he can give this in writing to the high command for action against Manpreet. “He can keep doing all this but even then Congress will win both Gidderbaha and Bathinda Rural seats,” he said. Talking about his achievements he said, “I am contesting this election with all honesty. I have been working in the area for the past five years. CM Charanjit Singh Channi has also taken up most of the problems of the area and we are hopeful of making our government under the guidance of PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu and CM Charanjit Singh Channi.”
On December 14, Sidhu had announced Laddi’s name during a rally in Bathinda Rural and even Warring had supported him. It is, however, not the first time that Laddi has spoken against Manpreet. In May last year, he had even staged a dharna outside the house of the then CM Capt Amarinder Singh in Chandigarh highlighting Manpreet’s interference in his constituency.
However, Warring, while addressing a rally at Deon village, took potshots at the Badals but didn’t single out any of them. “Saare Badal… Deon waliyo…Saare Badal mere te Laddi de magar pai gai ne (Deon residents, all the Badals are after me and Laddi.) Sukhbir wants me to bow before him…now you (the voters) have to decide our fate ,” Warring said.
Even after repeated attempts, Manpreet Badal refused to comment on the matter.
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