As campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections heats up, political parties in the city are leaving no stone unturned in wooing the voters. Monday turned out to be another busy day for the three political parties — Congress, BJP and JD (U) — as their respective candidates went around city addressing various public gatherings.

Congress: “With 50 per cent of the total population of the country comprising youngsters, it is time for the youth to realise its power,” said Congress candidate and sitting MP Pawan Kumar Bansal as he addressed two separate gatherings in Sectors 29 and 45. While evoking the patriotic fervour he said: “No inspiration is better than the lives of the martyr trio — Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.”

Presiding over the candlelight march organised by the Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress Committee (CTYC), Bansal said the youth has a wider and more responsible role to play in the development of the country. “Our country’s future rests on the energetic shoulders of the young blood,” he added.

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP): Senior BJP leaders condemned the statement of Congress counterpart Pawan Kumar Bansal, in which he had promised rehabilitation for residents of Faidan village and regularisation of their dwellings. President of the state unit, Kamala Sharma, general secretary Sanjay Tandon, former presidents Dharam Pal Gupta and Jai Ram Joshi took strong objection to his remarks in a joint statement.

The BJP leaders accused the Congress MP of ‘misleading’ the innocent people of Faidan village and said that “he has been doling out false assurances for the past 15 years”. They asked Bansal to seek votes on the basis of performance, not promises.

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