Punjab Elections 2022: Capt Amarinder Slams Congress For Selecting Ajay Maken To Screen Candidates

In a statement issued in Chandigarh earlier in the day, Captain Amarinder said that Maken was the nephew of Lalit Maken, who was one of the main culprits of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.

Former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh. (File Photo)

Chandigarh: Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today lashed out at the Congress high command for appointing Ajay Maken as the Chairman of the Screening Committee for shortlisting candidates for the next Vidhan Sabha elections in the poll-bound state.

In a statement issued in Chandigarh earlier in the day, Captain Amarinder said that Maken was the nephew of Lalit Maken, who was one of the main culprits of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. 

"The Congress could not have nominated the worst person, than Maken, for the job as while on the one hand, the central government is moving ahead with the prosecution of another culprit, Sajjan Kumar, while the Congress is rewarding the Makens and that too in Punjab, thus rubbing salt into Punjabis’ wounds," Singh said.

“The Congress party should have avoided naming someone like Maken, as the name itself draws derision and revulsion in Punjab for the involvement of his late uncle in the anti-Sikh riots where innocent victims were burnt alive to death”, the former Chief Minister said, while adding, even otherwise Maken was not qualified enough to head the Screening Committee with veteran leaders like Ms Ambika Soni and Sunil Jakhar being kept under him.

Maken had presided over the two successive defeats of the party in Delhi assembly elections drawing back to back blank, former Punjab CM said. "With someone who has presided over virtual wiping out of the party in Delhi, now being handed over the job in Punjab, the fate of the party can be anybody’s guess," he remarked.

“After ensuring that Congress got zero seats in two successive elections in Delhi in 2014 and 2019, he has now been dispatched to ensure that same feat is achieved in Punjab as well”, Capt Amarinder said, adding, this clearly indicates that the party has admitted defeat before the elections by appointing a failed politician, who lost 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, losing even his deposit in the Vidhan Sabha