Khangura ridicules Sukhbir Badal’s attempt to rebrand his image - 20/11/2009

CHANDIGARH, November 20: Qila Raipur MLA Jassi Khangura today ridiculed the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal for the publicity gimmick of moving around Ludhiana city in a private vehicle, supposedly like a common man, but without any sincere attempt at solving real problems.

Khangura said this attempt at image rebranding was clearly done in preparation for assuming the chair of the Chief Minister, which Sukhbir has been coveting for a long time.

In a statement issued here today, Khangura said this was too little too late and only designed to address Sukhbir’s deeply entrenched image of being arrogant with a taste for the high life, fast cars, huge houses, private jets and lavish shopping trips to Dubai and the US.

Khangura stated that within 24 hours of interacting with supposedly ordinary persons at Ludhiana Sukhbir’s own insecurities and anxieties prevailed at Amritsar where he denied invitations to the visiting Canadian Prime Minister’s function to persons who are clearly better communicators than him.

Khangura stressed “No amount of gloss can now address the fact that Sukhbir today is the most resented and least trusted politician in Punjab. He has failed to clarify his substantial wealth and he has consistently failed to control his temper.”

Khangura maintained “This is a futile attempt at a rebranding exercise, when in reality he is never genuine but is only seeking to transform his image from a flamboyant politician to a serious and sincere leader, which he never will be able to do.”

Khangura ventured that having falied as an MP and a Minister in the Centre Sukhbir would now fail in Punjab too.

Taunting Sukhbir, he remarked, “you can always count on Sukhbir to do the right thing after he has tried everything else”. He said, Sukhbir should have developed this concern for the public good the day he joined the politics and public life. “Instead he always remained preoccupied with his personal possessions and obsessions”, the MLA said.

The Qila Raipur MLA said, “moving around the city like a common man does not wash Sukhbir’s past sins, for which the public is certainly going to punish him. This is in reality an insult to the intelliegence of the people of Punjab.”

Khangura observed that Sukhbir possibly seems to be mimicking the Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi who has been mixing and mingling with the people across the country. “Nothing wrong in learning good lessons”, he remarked, while adding, “but the effort should be sincere and not just a PR exercise”. He said, Sukhbir should better learn from Rahul on how to empathise with the problems of the masses, the downtrodden, the marginalized, the deprived and underprivileged and seek solutions to these problems constructively.

Finally, Khangura cautioned “Sukhbir’s inherent belief that he is an master electoral tactician is nothing more than a delusion that will be exposed in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections. It is simply not possible to subvert the entire electoral apparatus.”