Jakhar asks Ambika-led campaign committee to be more active

Former leader of Congress legislature party (CLP) Sunil Jakhar on Monday suggested the campaign committee of his own party to be more active and take the government head-on. He was addressing the media in Chandigarh on Monday.
Rajya Sabha member Ambika Soni is the in-charge of the Congress campaign committee in the state. Though he didn’t name anyone, Jakhar was categorical in asking the committee to support Amarinder in raising the issues. Soni got a berth in the Rajya Sabha from Punjab recently and Jakhar was one of aspirants.
“There is so much that we can talk about to make public aware of government’s failures and the campaign committee must use Amarinder’s public-outreach programme to expose the government,” he said. He said when the high command had empowered the state party chief to take key decisions, all leaders should work to strengthen him.
Reacting to Jakhar’s comment, Ambika Soni told HT that the campaign committee was not a separate entity and “a part of the PPCC”. “We have already started an outreach programme and a plan is already in place to meet people in different zones across the state,” she said.
“Sunil (Jakhar) should know that I am in Punjab for three to four days a week, as I also look after Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. I have a fair amount of work to do,” she said.
Jakhar said Congress leaders needed to adopt an ‘offensive approach’ to push the government on the back foot. “Why are we waiting for our opponents to say something against us and then react? Why not expose their shortcomings and misdeeds?” he said.
QUESTIONS SUKHBIR BADAL ON JOBS
Jakhar also accused the Akali-BJP government of not fulfilling its promise of providing 1.13 lakh jobs. He said deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal in November last year had promised to give 1.13lakh jobs in six months just to divert the attention of people from incidents of desecration of Guru Granth Sahib. Citing government figures, Jakhar said in last four years, Akali-BJP government gave only 37,000 jobs against Sukhbir Badal’s promise of giving 2-lakh jobs every year.
He said the government from time to time made announcements of recruitments , but failed to take the recruitment process to the logical end.