CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had the “potential” to become the Prime Minister of the country. In an interview to a news channel, he said he always found Gandhi “extremely perceptive and decisive”. “There was a deliberate attempt to undermine his image by calling him names.”
Singh said the time was right for a “generational change” in the Congress to cater to aspirations of the 70 per cent youth population of the country. He also spoke about the drug menace in the state, and said he could turn things around overnight, but his government had successfully created the right “enabling environment” for the elimination of drugs, which were now less available. He also pointed out that it would be difficult to wean the youth completely away from the products, without offering them incentives like employment. “Industrial revival will lead to large-scale creation of employment opportunities in the state,” he added.
Singh said his government was working to encourage farmers, 70 per cent of whom were small farmers, to diversify and shift from paddy to cash crops. “Such small farmers, who have less than 5 acres of land, will not be able to survive imposition of taxes as envisaged by the Nity Aayog.”
