Bains brothers float Lok Insaaf Party

As the suspense over the future course of action of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu’s Awaaz-e-Punjab prevails, front members Balwinder and Simarjeet Singh Bains on Friday announced the floating of Lok Insaaf Party in the election-bound Punjab.

Independent MLA from Ludhiana South, Balwinder said his brother and he had applied to the Election Commission for floating a new political party three to four months back, before the formation of Awaaz-e-Punjab.

Final stages

“We have formed the Lok Insaaf Party,” he said, adding a notice has been issued seeking objections from public on the party and it is in final stages.

Simarjeet Singh Bains, MLA from Atam Nagar constituency in Ludhiana, will be the outfit’s president and brother Balwinder its chairman.

“Besides, we have a full structure of the party in place, in which we have city councillors too,” Balwinder said.

After Diwali

Speaking on Awaaz-e-Punjab’s future course, he said, the suspense over which way former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu-led Awaaz-e-Punjab would finally take will be over after Diwali.

The brothers have been claiming that Awaaz-e-Punjab has been in talks with both Congress and AAP for an alliance.

“Sidhu never used bad words against Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal,” he said.

Last month, after floating Awaaz-e-Punjab, Sidhu had dubbed AAP an “anarchy in the garb of democracy” and alleged that Kejriwal only wanted “yes-men“.

However, AAP senior leader Sanjay Singh had on Thursday claimed, “Talks between Sidhu and AAP are going on. There is no denying this. Talks have been on for the past four to five days.”

Sidhu had also met AAP’s head for organisation-building, Durgesh Pathak, in Delhi on Wednesday. He, had quit his Rajya Sabha seat and the BJP, formed Awaaz-e-Punjab last month but is yet to align with any party.

Unconditionally

Meanwhile, rubbishing Awaaz-e-Punjab’s claims that it is “in touch” with the Congress high command, the party’s Punjab affairs in-charge, Asha Kumari, reiterated: “Our stand from day one is if Sidhu wants to join unconditionally then he is welcome. If he is serious about getting rid of the Akali-BJP government then he should come with Congress.”

Accusing AAP of having no ideology, she claimed: “The Arvind Kejriwal-led government has completely failed in Delhi.” - PTI