Both Channi, Sidhu incapable of running Punjab: Union minister

A day before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to announce the party’s chief minister (CM) face in Punjab, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union minister Hardeep Puri on Saturday slammed both the front runners — incumbent CM Charanjit Singh Channi and state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu — calling them incapable of running the government.

Addressing a press conference in Ludhiana, Puri targeted Sidhu over his ties with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and accused Channi of trying to create communal divide in the state.

The Union minister also took a dig at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), stating that while the party is making tall claims to bring a change in Punjab, the health system in Delhi has collapsed and liquor policy has been liberalised. “Even the people of Punjab are not confident whether AAP’s CM face Bhagwant Mann can run the state,” he said.

Terming the alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the past as a “bad marriage”, Puri said there was no question of joining hands with it after elections.

At another event, while inducting over 350 youths into the party fold, Puri announced to eradicate the menace of drugs and create job opportunities for the youth in the state if the BJP is voted to power.

The Union minister claimed that the state had been pushed back in terms of development during the rule of the Congress. “A white paper will be released for the losses suffered by Punjab in the past due to wrong policies of Congress,” he said, after interacting with a group of industrialists.