Chandigarh, Feb 10: Aam Aadmi Party leader Baltej Pannu has claimed that the decades-old “hand-in-glove” relationship between the Congress and the Akali Dal has been officially exposed by their own former leadership.
Speaking to the media, Pannu referenced a video of Ravneet Singh Bittu, asserting that the Union Minister’s comments confirm a secret alliance intended to protect the interests of elite political families. Pannu mentioned that the two parties operated on a “five years you loot, five years we loot” philosophy, which prevented any genuine development in Punjab until the 2022 assembly elections.
“Ravneet Bittu has openly admitted that Congress and Akali Dal leaders worked together behind closed doors, deciding who would win,” Pannu directly said. He noted that this backroom cooperation was a staple of Punjab’s politics, where rivals would switch stances and statements depending on their location to keep the public deceived.
Pannu noted that the 2022 election results, which saw the defeat of veterans like Parkash Singh Badal, Captain Amarinder Singh, and Navjot Singh Sidhu, were the direct result of the public rejecting this corrupt system. He mentioned that the current government’s focus on transparent governance and social welfare has left the opposition with no substantive issues to discuss.
“They don’t talk about work. All they say is ‘let us come, we will arrest Bhagwant Mann’,” Pannu mentioned while questioning the opposition’s motives. He noted that the Chief Minister is being targeted for providing irrigation water to farmers and health insurance to the public.
Pannu further noted that the most significant evidence of this collusion is that a current Union Minister is admitting to being part of a plan to help an opponent. “He is not lying when he says he was sent with a message to defeat Bhagwant Mann and help Sukhbir Badal. The only question is, who sent him?” Pannu directly said.
