Chandigarh, Feb 10: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of operating a long-standing “power-sharing cartel” designed to exploit Punjab under the guise of political competition.
During a press conference on Monday, AAP Punjab Media Incharge Baltej Pannu presented a video clip of Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu. In the footage, Bittu allegedly admits to a 2017 strategy where Congress and Akali leaders collaborated to defeat Bhagwant Mann and secure a victory for Sukhbir Singh Badal. Pannu noted that this confession serves as definitive proof of a “fixed-match” political model that dominated the state for decades.
“This is not an allegation by AAP. This is their own leader speaking,” Pannu directly said. He noted that leaders from both parties worked behind closed doors to decide election winners and losers in specific constituencies.
Pannu mentioned that this arrangement followed a predictable pattern where one party would rule for five years while the other waited its turn, ensuring neither side faced accountability for corruption. He noted that this “organised political corruption” saw deals made for key seats across Patiala, Lambi, and Sangrur. According to the AAP leader, the traditional political establishment became desperate when a common man from Sangrur entered the fray and challenged the status quo.
“The entire establishment panicked when a common man, a comedian from a village in Sangrur, entered politics and began exposing their nexus,” Pannu noted. He mentioned that despite efforts to thwart Bhagwant Mann in 2017 and 2019, the voters eventually dismantled this system in 2022.
The AAP leader also noted that the current opposition is rattled by the state’s progress over the last four years, including the closure of 16 toll plazas and the provision of free electricity. Pannu directly said, “The era of secret deals is over. The era of honest politics has begun, and that is what they cannot tolerate.”
