BJP, Punjab Lok Congress to Have a Joint Manifesto, Says Amarinder Singh

After sealing the pre-poll pact with the BJP, former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said the Punjab Lok Congress and BJP will have a common election manifesto for the 2022 Assembly elections.

In an informal chat with media persons at his Siswan farmhouse, Captain Amarinder said that he had shared his party manifesto with BJP leadership and it was expected to become part of a joint manifesto. He said that various farmers related issues formed the core of the manifesto with crop diversification attempts to get help farmers to move out of the wheat-paddy cycle that was putting strain on the groundwater reserves.

Terming winnability as the sole criterion for finalizing seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP, he said that the BJP Punjab in charge Gajendra Singh Shekhawat would be in Chandigarh next week to discuss the seat-sharing. He claimed that the sacrilege attempts in the state were aimed to disturb communal harmony by forces from across the border and the ISI was trying to take advantage of that.

He said there was a threat to peace from Pakistan and sleeper cells of various terror groups were active and using the help and support of the Inter-Services Intelligence to foment trouble in Punjab. “I wonder why the Punjab government was in continuous denial mode on the security issue. Long-range drones with more payload capacity were being used by ISI to push in arms and ammunition and yet they believe nothing sinister is being played out,” questioned Captain.

He said that the country faced a new drone challenge from terror groups. “The efficiency of drones, both in terms of covering the distance and carrying the load, is a potential threat for the country as it provides more options for Pakistan to smuggle in drugs and weapons into the country,” said Captain.

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