Chandigarh, June 10
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab President Aman Arora sharply rebutted Congress candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu’s remarks during the Ludhiana West by-election campaign. Arora criticized Congress leaders for consistently treating ordinary citizens as second-class, which he claimed has led to their current political decline.
Addressing Ashu’s comments that AAP ministers lack influence, Arora retorted, “The real question is, how did you govern as a minister? You abused a female education officer and openly threatened police officials. You are facing allegations of corruption involving hundreds of crores. Do you expect us to follow suit? Our ministers neither engage in such behavior nor intend to.”
Arora said that AAP’s governance model is to serve honestly and with integrity. “Threatening or abusing others is not part of our party’s culture, and we do not tolerate it. It’s better to do less but do everything with honesty and humility than to act wrongly,” he said. He added that the people of Ludhiana West would deliver their verdict on Ashu’s style of politics on June 19.
Arora accused the Congress of betraying Punjab, alleging that its leaders prioritizred loyalty to their Delhi and Italy-based high command over the state’s interests. “Congress leaders sold their self-respect to their high command, shielded mafias, and indulged in scams worth thousands of crores,” he claimed. He further alleged that a Congress Chief Minister allowed a Pakistani citizen to operate from his office, forcing Punjab’s people to comply.
Arora criticized the Congress for failing to generate employment or drive development, instead fostering drug and sand mafias while prioritizing personal and familial gains over Punjab’s welfare. “For Congress, power is everything, and the common people are irrelevant,” Arora concluded.