File picture of BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who is fighting the Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar, today took potshots at Congress for fielding a "reluctant" Amarinder Singh against him.
Contesting his first parliamentary polls, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha said he would contest in a dignified manner in keeping with the best traditions of democracy and hoped the best man wins.
"Congress has finally announced its candidate from Amritsar. They have named a reluctant Amarinder Singh. My best wishes to him... I will promise the people of Amritsar that I shall provide a better voice for them. May the best man win," Mr Jaitley wrote on his blog.
Amritsar, he said, is looking for an effective voice at the Centre and people's "expectation" from him is that he would be that voice.
While BJP has taken potshots at Finance Minister P Chidambaram over his decision against contesting the elections, Mr Jaitley remembered his political rival fondly and said he was entitled to take his own decision.
"My friend Chidambram has opted out of the elections. He is entitled to make his decision. Some of the better debates in Parliament and outside (including digs at each other) were between the two of us. I will certainly miss him," he said. Talking about campaigning tours of villages near the Indo-Pak border, he said that the UPA government had discontinued the compensation fixed by the NDA regime for farmers whose land had become inaccessible due to barbed-wire fencing inside Indian territory.
"Punjab government is providing some compensation. Border farmers are awaiting clearance for some bridges to get access to their lands. Their big expectation is that opening and expansion of Indo-Pak border trade will boost their economy," he said.