Punjab Congress to launch 'Punjab Mangda Insaaf' campaign from November 11

Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh on Tuesday announced that the party would launch its statewide 'Punjab Mangda Insaaf' campaign on November 11 to establish direct communication with people, understand their grievances and expectations, and raise issues affecting different sections of society.

Addressing reporters, Singh said the campaign, which began with the 'Insaaf Rally' in Sangrur on November 4, would now be expanded across Punjab, with senior Congress leaders leading public outreach programmes in different regions.

He said the party would engage directly with stakeholders from agriculture, information technology, industry and other sectors to understand their concerns and incorporate public feedback into its political agenda.

Special outreach programmes would be organised across the Malwa, Majha and Doaba regions, he added.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱

Singh said five to six senior Congress leaders would lead the campaign in different parts of Punjab and take the party's message to households across the state.

Campaign Committee chairman and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi would also reach out to people in different Assembly constituencies through the 'Jawani Sambhal, Jatta' cycle rally.

The Jalandhar Cantonment MLA said the campaign would focus on understanding the difficulties faced by farmers, labourers, traders, employees, women, youth and other sections of society.

He maintained that the Congress wanted to promote harmony and positive politics while ensuring that people's concerns received greater attention in public discourse.

The campaign would not be restricted to any particular community or occupational group but would seek to represent the aspirations of people across Punjab, he said.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗔𝗣 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Launching a sharp attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led government, Singh alleged that Punjab was grappling with drug abuse, gangsterism, deteriorating law and order and conditions resembling a "police state".

He claimed that bureaucratic mismanagement was creating additional difficulties for ordinary citizens, particularly young people.

Singh said students who had appeared for the Punjab Civil Services examination had approached him with complaints about alleged irregularities and administrative lapses in the examination process.

"The Congress will raise all these issues as part of a comprehensive campaign and hold the government accountable," he said.

The Punjab Congress chief alleged that the law and order situation had worsened under the Aam Aadmi Party government.

Describing AAP as the BJP's "B-team", Singh accused the ruling party of failing to fulfil its promise of eliminating the drug menace within two years.

He claimed that the situation remained alarming despite the government's assurances.

Singh further alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann did not exercise effective control over the administration and that the state was being run by AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.

𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝘆

Responding to a question about the Congress's first list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections, Singh said surveys were being conducted and consultations were underway at various organisational levels.

He said the party was making efforts to announce its first list of candidates at the earliest.

On the election manifesto, Singh said he was working closely with manifesto committee chairman and MP Dr Amar Singh to gather suggestions from different sections of society.

He said the party would also seek opinions from experts across various fields to develop a comprehensive and practical policy document.

The most useful suggestions received from the public and experts would be incorporated into the manifesto, keeping the broader public interest in mind.

Singh said the objective was to prepare a people-centric roadmap for Punjab's future development and prosperity.

𝗣𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱

The Congress leader also criticised the state government over paddy procurement, alleging that farmers were facing severe difficulties in mandis.

He claimed that approximately 20 to 25 per cent of paddy stocks were still lying in mandis without being procured.

Singh said Chief Minister Mann had promised that every grain brought to the mandis would be purchased by the government, but alleged that the assurance had not been fulfilled.

Farmers continued to face uncertainty over the procurement of their produce and timely payments, he claimed.

He said the Congress would highlight these concerns during its statewide campaign and demand accountability from the government.

𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱

Several senior Congress leaders attended the announcement, including MLA Rana Gurjit Singh, MPs Gurjeet Singh Aujla and Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, MLA Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and former MLA Sukhwinder Singh Danny.

Singh reiterated that the 'Punjab Mangda Insaaf' campaign would serve as a platform for direct engagement with citizens and help the party identify the issues it intended to prioritise ahead of the Assembly elections.