From ‘Kale Angrej’ to ‘joker’: Ugly ‘personal attacks’ in Punjab Assembly polls campaign

The political pundits are of the view that the burning issues of social importance are being sidelined in Punjab in the rush to hit the rivals below the belts. 

Amritsar: Perhaps never had politics in Punjab ever witnessed such an ugly round of “vindictive and personal attacks” as those are being experienced now. The state goes to polls in the next two months and the political landscape is full of hatred and lower levels of verbal spats against each other. 

The atmosphere heated up with former cricketer, comedian-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu initiating a worst-ever attack against his party’s own Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Soon after assuming the charge as President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, he called Captain `Jhhootha Raja (Lair King) and with blessings from the party’s high command in Delhi, he later engineered a coup that led to the unceremonious fall of the 'Maharaja'. 

Both resorted to the worst ever personal attacks as Captain called Sidhu a `jumping jack’ even `monkey without brain’ while Sidhu called him by all the names and even said Captain is `licking the feet’ of PM Narendra Modi. If Sidhu is to be blamed for vitiating the atmosphere, Aam Aadmi Party leaders including Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal used filthy language against present Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Captain Amarinder and even Akali leaders.