Punjab: Badals meting out 'step-motherly' treatment to state, says Amarinder Singh

Bhatinda (Punjab): Expressing confidence of forming the next government in Punjab, Congress chief ministerial candidate Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday accused the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of providing step motherly treatment to the prosperous state and said that the mismanagement of the last ten years will backfire on them. Taunting Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Captain Amarinder said the former is busy in 'sangat darshan' while others are busy in their respective businesses. "Nobody is bothered about the state, they are meting out step motherly treatment to Punjab, he said. Captain Amarinder further said the Akalis stand no chances this time as they have totally collapsed. "I have never seen such a collapse in 47 years of my politics. They have totally mismanaged the state - the corruption, unemployment, business getting closed, trade collapsing, farmers killing themselves - the Badals have no chance," he added. Captain Amrinder, however, admitted that he was initially vary of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) making its presence in Punjab. "I was a bit wary of this Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) but looking at the current status and the reports which we have got from all quarters, we are leading. The lead can only go up now it cannot go down, as only a week is left," said Singh. "Kejriwal is not a Punjabi. He has been the Delhi CM for two and half years and he is losing his control here. His performance has come down and this will show in the upcoming election," he added. Continuing his tirade against Kejriwal, Captain Amrinder said, the AAP supremo's ultimate goal is to bag the coveted chair of the Prime Minister. "I asked him (Kejriwal) to debate with me. I said you want to be the Chief Minister of Punjab, let the state know what you know about it. But he refused. He knows nothing about Punjab. He just considers Punjab as a stepping stone he wants to jump from a union territory to a major state. Then from Punjab he probably might want to go to Gujarat and from there he would want to take up the Prime Minister's job," he added.