|
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi President Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, describing them as a "below-the-belt attack" and saying that such comments were unbecoming of a leader of his stature.
Reacting to Gandhi's allegations that Mann could be smelling of alcohol during his time in Parliament and questioning his ability to lead the fight against drug abuse, Bharadwaj said making accusations did not serve any purpose and accused Congress and the BJP of jointly targeting Punjab. "Allegations of drug use have also been made against Rahul Gandhi. But making accusations doesn't achieve anything. I feel that at Rahul Gandhi's level, he really shouldn't be making such cheap comments," Bharadwaj said. He questioned why Gandhi had not made similar remarks against Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand's Pushkar Singh Dhami. "This kind of below-the-belt attack by Rahul Gandhi shows how low his politics has stooped. Whether it's the Bharatiya Janata Party or Congress, they have nothing to do with the five elections happening in five states. They've just made Punjab their joint target," he said. Accusing both parties of focusing disproportionately on Punjab, Bharadwaj said they were repeatedly targeting the AAP government and its leaders instead of raising issues in other poll-bound states. "From morning till night, both parties are only focused on Punjab-- 'Bhagwant Mann did this, Bhagwant Mann did that. This happened in Punjab, that happened in Punjab. Today the ED is going to Punjab, tomorrow the CBI will go to Punjab. Today they'll catch this Punjab minister; today they'll catch this Punjab MLA.' Brother, why aren't these two parties fighting in the rest of the states? Why are they after Punjab? Because an Opposition party's chief minister is running the government in Punjab," he said. Responding to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's allegations that the Bhagwant Mann-led government was the most corrupt in Punjab in 60 years and that Arvind Kejriwal had deployed collection agents in the state, Bharadwaj accused Congress of targeting Opposition parties rather than the BJP. "This is a partnership between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party," he said. "The most corrupt government in 60 years is not the Akalis, in which the drug problem started in Punjab. They didn't call it the most corrupt government in 60 years for Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand. They didn't say it about Prime Minister Modi's government. But they gave this certificate of the most corrupt government in 60 years to an opposition government," he added. Bharadwaj further alleged that Congress viewed other opposition parties as its political rivals and was attempting to weaken leaders such as Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab over the drug menace, questioning its commitment to tackling substance abuse and alleging that the state was being governed from Delhi. Addressing the 'Insaaf Rally' in Sangrur, Rahul Gandhi said that the AAP government had come to power on the promise of eradicating drugs from Punjab but had failed to fulfil its commitment. "The Aam Aadmi Party came to power, and you placed your trust in them, in Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party. They promised that they would eradicate the drug menace. I ask you: where have they eliminated it? From which corner of Punjab have they managed to remove drugs? They are simply incapable of eradicating this menace," he said. Further, on the Centre's decision to extend the engagement period of Agniveers by two years, Saurabh Bharadwaj said the government needed to change its approach towards the armed forces and paramilitary personnel. He questioned the deployment of CRPF personnel for crowd management at temples and security at public parks, saying their role should not be limited to such duties. "I feel the government has money problems, especially when it comes to paying the army and paramilitary forces. They are unable to increase capacity, and maybe it's also because people aren't very interested in the new Agniveer recruitment. The youth just aren't interested," he said. Referring to the two-year extension, Bharadwaj suggested that the decision could be linked to difficulties in attracting fresh recruits under the Agnipath scheme. "That's why they had to extend it; just like if they don't want to retire a Chief Secretary and appoint a new one, they just extend their tenure. That's how these extensions are being done," he added. Earlier in the day, Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani announced that 75 per cent of Agniveers who were previously required to exit after completing their four-year tenure would be offered an additional two-year engagement period. Those willing to join the regular Armed Forces after the extended period would be enrolled subject to objective selection criteria. The Agnipath scheme was introduced by the Union Cabinet in June 2022 for recruitment into the Armed Forces for a four-year period. (ANI)
|
