Badal should ask NDA govt to transfer Chandigarh to Pb: Cong

Phagwara, Aug 19 (PTI) Punjab Congress PresidentAmarinder Singh today said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badalshould ask the Modi government to transfer Chandigarh toPunjab in a definite time-frame. Talking to newsmen here after addressing ‘Halke vichCaptain’ programme, the former chief minister said the BJP-ledNDA government must honour Rajiv-Longowal accord bytransferring Chandigarh to its mother state Punjab on a fixeddate and give funds to Haryana for building its own capital. He said, "Badal’s daughter-in-law is minister at Centrewhile BJP is an alliance partner with Akalis in Punjab. Itwill be a kind of parameter for testing Badal’s say in Modigovernment if he persuaded it to transfer Chandigarh to Punjabin a time-bound period". Brushing aside the C-Voter’s pre-poll survey reportregarding Punjab, he asserted that AAP’s graph had nosedivedduring the last three months. When asked if Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalprojected himself as AAP’s chief ministerial face in Punjab,Amarinder dubbed it as speculative, adding that Punjabis wouldnever allow a ‘Haryanvi’ to be its chief minister. Putting a poser, Amarinder asked whether he could be CMof UP or any other state? Likewise, how can any Punjabi allow Kejriwal to be CM ofPunjab? he argued. "We know pulse of Punjabis. What does Kejriwal know? Heeven does not know the names of all Punjab districts," hesaid. He said, "AAPÂ’s men are outsiders. Sanjay Singh (party’sPunjab affairs incharge) and Durgesh Pathak are from UP while62 others middle-rung office-bearers are also from outsidePunjab. People go by partyÂ’s policies and programmes but theyare also tied to individuals for their day-to-day works. Whoknows AAP’s candidates announced till now". Branding Kejriwal as ‘ahankari’ (arrogant ), Amarinderalleged he had cheated on cricketer-turned-politician NavjotSingh Sidhu. "First Kejriwal made Sidhu resign from Rajya Sabha andthen treated him shabbily by leaving him neither here noranywhere. Our party’s doors are open for Sidhu whom I knewsince he was a little boy and whose parents were Congressleaders," he said. (MORE) PTI cor VJ RCJ ZMNRCJ