Pubdate: Mon, 12 Jan 2015
Source: Hindu, The (India)
Copyright: 2015 The Hindu
Contact:  http://www.thehindu.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/874

CONGRESS PLANS RALLY TO COUNTER AMIT SHAH'S ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN

The Congress's Punjab unit decided on Sunday decided to organise a
rally in Amritsar on January 22 the day when BJP president Amit Shah
is set to launch an anti-drugs rally in that city.

The announcement came during a major show of strength by Amarinder
Singh, MP, on Sunday, when at least 200 leaders, including Leader of
the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Sunil Jakhar, 35 of the 44
MLAs, 50 former legislators, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh and
officer-bearers of the Pradesh Congress Committee resolved to work
under his leadership to revive the party in the State and strengthen
the hands of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul
Gandhi.

With the Amritsar rally, the Congress will launch a State-wide
campaign against the Parkash Singh Badal government. The party would
go all out to expose the "dual talk" by the BJP, which was supporting
as well as opposing its alliance partner, the Akali Dal, the leaders
said. It would mobilise public opinion against the Union government
for promulgating an ordinance to dilute the "farmer-friendly" Land
Acquisition Act. A series of rallies will be held at the Assembly
constituency level, where Capt. Singh would address the people.

Observers feel that with Sunday's luncheon meeting at his Royal Moti
Palace in Patiala, Capt. Singh has sent a signal to the party high
command to resolve the factionalism and leadership issues in the State
if they were serious to win the Assembly election due in 2017.

In his reaction, Capt Singh's bete noir, party State unit president
Partap Singh Bajwa welcomed the "belated initiative" to confront Mr.
Shah in Amritsar by organising a counter rally. However, he asserted
that the programme would be organised under the umbrella of the Punjab
Pradesh Congress Committee and the modalities would be chalked out in
consultation with the party high command after the Muktsar rally at
the Maghi festival on January 14.

He expressed satisfaction over the endorsement by Capt. Singh to the
Pradesh Congress Committee's programme to confront Mr. Shah on various
issues, including the BJP's "double talk" on the drugs issue, forced
conversions under the Ghar Vapsi campaign, alleged uprooting of
Punjabi farmers from Gujarat and non-implementation of the one rank,
one pension scheme for the armed forces.

He said the party would remind Mr. Shah that it was the Congress which
had taken up the issue of growing drugs addiction and alleged
involvement of Akali Dal Ministers in the peddling of narcotics, for
which the party had demanded a CBI investigation.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D