Even the sarpanch in Jakhar’s village not from Congress, says Sukhbir Badal

Taking a dig at Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar, former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said Jakhar is an “arrogant” leader and a “failure in politics”.

He was here to address a rally in support of SAD-BJP joint candidate, Swarn Singh Salaria, for the by-elections to the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat.

Badal, who is also president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, said Jakhar had consecutively lost two elections—first the Lok Sabh election from Ferozepur in 2014 and later the assembly elections from Abohar in 2017. He added that this “clearly reflects how unpopular Jakhar is” among the masses. “Even the sarpanch of his native village is not from the Congress,” Badal said.

Praising the SAD-BJP candidate, Badal said Salaria belongs to a family of freedom fighters and farmers. “Before becoming a successful businessman in Mumbai, Salaria also served in the army,” Badal said.

Criticising the Captain Amarinder Singh-led government, Badal accused the chief minister (CM) of making false promises in the run-up to the state assembly polls. He said, “The CM promised the farmers to waive all their loans, however even after six months, he has failed to act in this direction.”

He also accused the CM of suspending the welfare schemes introduced during the SAD-BJP government.

Paying homage to former Gurdaspur MP, Vinod Khanna, whose death on April 27 necessitated the by-election, Badal said Khanna had carried out various developmental projects, including the Pathankot airport, bridges over Beas and Ravi, among others.

Badal urged the people to elect Salaria in the bypolls so that the “development agenda of Khanna is carried forward”. Commenting on Aam Aadmi Party candidate, Maj Gen Suresh Khajuria (retd), Badal said Khajuria has no qualification other than being an ex-serviceman.