Move To "Arm-Twist Opponents": Navjot Sidhu On BJP's New Punjab Office

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday alleged that the BJP is using central agencies to arm-twist and browbeat political opponents, and trigger defections.

Addressing a rally organised by local MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Mr Sidhu said rival political leaders are being asked to either join the BJP or be put behind bars.

The BJP resorted to "bad politics of vote polarisation and using the Enforcement Directorate and other agencies for browbeating opponents to trigger defections," he said.

Taking a dig at the BJP for opening its office in Jalandhar, Mr Sidhu said a party which was not seen in the state for five years has now opened its office just to "arm-twist opponents".

"The opening of the BJP office meant that either 'aa jao sadey daftar Jalandhar, nahi ta kar diyange jail de andar' (either join us or be behind bars)," said Mr Sidhu.

He alleged the BJP is playing "dirty games of creating terror among its opponents".

Truthful people will remain undeterred by such "tricks" of the BJP, he said.

Mr Sidhu said the upcoming Assembly polls in the state are for the next generation and saving Punjab from the mafia.

"If you want to save Punjab and the next generation, then vote for us but if you want to make Punjab unlivable, then you can vote for thieves and the mafia," he said.

"The polls are a big opportunity for choosing between goodness and the mafia, truth and falsehood," he said.

He spoke against his political rivals for offering "lollipops" and making false promises.

Mr Sidhu said he gives his word that his 13-point programme is meant for the welfare of the poor.

"I promise that I will quit politics if five lakh jobs were not given to skilled or unskilled urban labour under his model," he said.

"I am not with the politics of lollipops but for bettering lives of Punjabis," he said, stressing that his model is pro-poor and pro-farmer.