'If Congress wants to revive, they should look within': BJP leader Sunil Jakhar

NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack on the Congress, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday urged Rahul Gandhi to stop chasing distant ideals and instead focus on cleansing his own party of corrupt individuals.
Jakhar accused Gandhi of surrounding himself with those who are “personified corruption,” saying that idealism without pragmatism is meaningless.
“Rahul Gandhi should not look far but around himself. If he believes that he is an idealist, it’s a good thing. But a person is known by his company. The people around him are the very manifestation of corruption,” Jakhar said.
Invoking a Hindi saying, he added, “Kaun kehta hai saubat ka hota nahi asar, insaan toh kya deewaar badal jaate hain” – even walls change with bad company.
Jakhar warned that if the Congress wants to revive, it must introspect and pair its idealism with realism.
“Aadarshwad ke sath yatharthwad bhi hona chahiye,” he said, arguing that Congress’ failure to root out corrupt leaders renders it incapable of playing the role of a strong opposition, which is crucial in a democracy.
“The ruling party also needs a strong opposition. But here, the opposition is itself kheru-kheru (ineffective),” Jakhar remarked.
Shifting his focus to Punjab’s law and order, Jakhar slammed CM Bhagwant Mann for allegedly misusing police resources.
This came just hours after an explosion was reported outside BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia’s residence in Jalandhar.
“Where was this intelligence when a bomb was thrown at Kalia’s residence? Instead, an intelligence team is being used to monitor Congress headquarters in Delhi,” Jakhar alleged.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur confirmed that forensic experts are investigating whether the blast was caused by a grenade.
“Around 1 am, we got information about the blast. The forensic team is investigating... we are also checking CCTV footage,” she said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Manpreet Singh said the report from the forensic team will confirm the nature of the explosion.