Title - Oppn to confront Cong on Railgate

Panchkula:
Although the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is yet to grill former Union Railway Minister and Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Bansal in connection with the cash-for-job scam in the Railways, the opposition parties have decided to target the Congress candidates with the ‘Mama-Bhanja’ controversy in the Panchkula MC elections.The opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), will be highlighting the Railways scam in which Bansal’s nephew (sister’s son), Vijay Singla, has been sent to judicial custody.Senior BJP leader Gian Chand Gupta said Pawan Kumar Bansal was like a ‘Hero’ for the Congress leaders in the tricity but the Railgate had exposed him. “As the BJP has already decided to highlight corruption issues involving Congress leaders, we will also highlight the ‘Mama-Bhanja’ episode in the Panchkula MC elections,” he said.Other opposition party, INLD, has already initiated a social media campaign against Bansal and other Congress leaders in connection with the recent corruption cases involving them. INLD city president Manoj Aggarwal said through e-mails and social media, the party had started targeting the Congress leaders, including Pawan Kumar Bansal. He said, “Congress leaders will have to give answers to public about the corruption cases involving them.”The Congress party, meanwhile, has decided against contesting the Panchkula MC Elections on the party symbol. In the last Assembly elections in 2009, Pawan Kumar Bansal had campaigned for the Congress candidate from Panchkula, DK Bansal, who is now a sitting MLA.

Like Chandigarh, Pawan Kumar Bansal also has a good voter base in Panchkula. Many of his relatives and friends reside in Panchkula and are associated with a number of NGOs and charitable institutions.

Before the Railgate came to light, Bansal had also started taking part in functions here. Recently, he was the chief guest at a mass marriage programme organised by an NGO here. In the beginning of the year, there were rumours that Pawan Kumar Bansal was planning to field his son Manish Bansal from Panchkula in the next Assembly elections in Haryana.

With the Railways scam unfurling, however, sources close to Bansal’s family said he might not take part in the campaigning for the Panchkula MC elections.

PANCHKULA MC ELECTIONS BANSAL UNLIKELY TO CAMPAIGN

Like Chandigarh, Pawan Kumar Bansal also has a good voter base in Panchkula. Before the Railgate came to light, Bansal had started taking part in functions in the town. In the last Assembly elections in 2009, Bansal had campaigned for the Congress candidate from Panchkula. Now, with the opposition parties, including the BJP and INLD, deciding to highlight the Railways scam in which Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla has been sent to judicial custody, sources close to Bansal’s family said he might not take part in the campaigning for the Panchkula MC elections.