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Akalis, Cong compete with rally
against rally in Malwa
WSN Bureau
 LAMBI/TALWANDI
SABO: In a strange interpretation of political shows, the opposition
Congress and ruling Akali Dal went on a showdown spree, each trying
to outdo each other by gathering huge crowds in Punjab's Malwa
hinterlands -- Congress in Badal's hometown Lambi and Akalis in
Talwandi Sabo -- only to later claim that the other's show was a
damp squib or managed with official machinery.
Former CM
Amarinder Singh in his new avatar of Punjab Campaign Committee chief
of the party came into his own with a rally at Lambi, sending
signals that his will be an aggressive style of politics, something
typical of him.
Akali Dal
president Sukhbir Singh Badal responded by holding his party's rally
the very next day but cleverly wrapping it as an official function
and thus making the taxpayer pay for his megalomania.
By all accounts,
Congress rally was impressive, and Akalis was widely expected to be
so with all the sarkaari help at hand.
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Sukhbir Singh Badal matched Congress show in Lambi by holding
his party's rally the very next day but cleverly wrapping it as
an official function and thus making the taxpayer pay for his
megalomania. Congress rally was impressive, and Akalis was of
course expected to be so with all the sarkari help at hand. |
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Congress flexed
muscles by parading a line up of Amarinder-Rajinder Kaur
Bhattal-Mohinder Singh Kaypee alongside Ambika Soni and Jagmeet
Singh Brar while Akalis turned it into a "power show" with double
meaning.
Showcasing an
initiative in the thermal power sector, CM Parkash Singh Badal laid
the foundation stone of a 1980 MW thermal power plant at Banawali,
near Talwandi Sabo, something Akalis termed as "a thermal revolution
of a magnitude unprecedented in the history not only of the state
but of the entire country."
 But while it was
clear to all that it was not a government function but primarily a
Sukhbir show, the ghost writers of Akali Dal also made it clear in
the official press release as the very second para claimed that the
"occasion also turned to be an opportunity for Sukhbir to showcase
his mercurial political charisma and organizational muscle."
It is not clear
how an official press note can praise a "youthful president" for
having gone "the whole hog" and rolling out "a spectacle at least
ten times larger than the Congress rally in his father's political
back yard at Lambi."
"Sukhbir
political stature is bound to go several notches higher after
today's forceful display. He successfully demonstrated that despite
the aberration of the last assembly poll, Malwa still remained an
Akali stronghold," the statement offically issued by the Department
of Public Relations,
Punjab
said.
The Congress
called its Monday rally "the formal start of campaign for upcoming
Lok Sabha elections" while Amarinder chose the occasion to target
Sukhbir and claim that the Akali Dal president was "de facto CM who
was plundering the state with both hands."
At the Akali
rally, Sukhbir was projected as the key speaker, the only one who
counted. "No other state in the country has so far undertaken such
massive and wide-ranging development initiative to boost its power
generation by 300% in such a short span," he claimed.
The Akali Dal
has repeatedly claimed it will fulfill its pre-election commitment
to make
Punjab
the country's first power surplus state in the next three and half
years.
The Talwandi
Sabo plant is expected to be energy-efficient utilizing 15% less
coal and eco-friendly by adhering to the strict pollution norms for
the industry. Its iconic 275 metre tall chimney would be highest in
the State. The bid document provides for a 48 month time period for
commissioning of the plant and PSEB has incorporated very attractive
incentive clauses to secure its early completion.
3 September 2008
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