'Punjab should not be run from Delhi': Rahul Gandhi jabs Mann, Kejriwal| Video

Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab, on Monday trained guns on the Bhagwant Mann government as he accused Arvind Kejriwal of running the state via a remote control. The grand old party - which had kicked off its Punjab leg last week - had lost the state to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) last year following a spell of bitter infighting. The AAP and the Congress have been engaged in an intense war of words earlier too.

"Punjab should not be run from Delhi. The government should run Punjab from the state. I want to tell the Chief Minister - Bhagwant Mann ji - that you are the leader of the state. You should not be pressured by Delhi and Arvind Kejriwal. This is a matter of history... it's a matter of the state's respect," Rahul Gandhi said at a briefing. Targeting Mann, he further said: "You should work independently here. You should listen to farmers and labourers and take decisions. Kisi ka remote control nahi banna chahiye (You should not be the remote control of somebody)," he further said.

Rahul Gandhi's latest remarks are expected to trigger a sharp response from the AAP. Even as the opposition parties have been trying to forge a united front ahead of the 2024 national elections, the AAP and the Congress have not been on the same page despite being vehement critics of the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Congress - which aims to revive its mass connect with the Kanyakumari to Kashimir Yatra - will conclude later this month. The party's communications in charge earlier in the day said that 23 parties have been invited to join the foot march on January 30 in Srinagar. "I don't know how many of them have accepted the invitation but we expect all of them to come,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

(With inputs from ANI)