CHANDIGARH: The Punjab unit of the Congress has strongly opposed any move for an alliance with the Left parties, especially the CPI and the CPI (M), during the forthcoming elections to the Punjab Assembly. The leadership wants the party to go it alone. This was disclosed by Pradesh Congress Committee president Shamsher Singh Dullo who presided over the first meeting of the newly appointed office-bearers at the party headquarters here on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters later, he said the decision to reject any poll alliance with the Left parties was taken through a unanimous resolution.

Saying that the Congress would seek another term in office convincing voters of the need to maintain the present momentum of development and restore the historic glory of Punjab during the next five years, Mr. Dullo charged that the rival SAD led by former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had no agenda nor a viable programme.

Mr. Dullo said the party would launch a mass contact programme from July onward when public meetings would be organised in two constituencies every week. Led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, the party would apprise the people of its achievements during the last five years and create awareness about the future challenges and opportunities. The party would also seek to erase the impact of "negative and false" propaganda launched by the Akalis along with their ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party. While he supported the Chief Minister on the issue of preparing a special package to bail out the debt-ridden farmers, Mr. Dullo demanded similar debt relief for farm labour. He stressed the role of the "khet mazdoor" in any agrarian economy.

Mr. Dullo reiterated his demand for a 70 per cent reservation for Punjabis in recruitment in the upcoming mega projects in the State. He argued that the subsidies and concessions that the big industrial houses got in setting up these projects were assets created out of the State's taxpayers' money.

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