Jalandhar, April 22, 2023 (Yes Punjab News)
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked chief minister Bhagwant Mann to explain why he was not proceeding against leaders of the previous Congress regime who had given safe shelter to dreaded mafia don Mukhtiar Ansari in Ropar jail on frivolous charges to prevent the Uttar Pradesh police from taking his production warrant.
Addressing a press conference here, SAD senior leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said it was shocking that the chief minister had tried to play to the gallery by claiming he would recover the Rs 55 lakh spent in defending Ansari in court but was silent on the criminal conspiracy behind the shelter given to the mafia don in Punjab during the previous Congress regime. “Recovery of Rs 55 lakh is a small issue when compared to the fact that one State government worked against the interests of another and delayed justice in several cases registered against the mafia don in Uttar Pradesh”.
Asserting that the chief minister should not be afraid to speak out the truth and take action where warranted, Dr Daljit Cheema said “is it true that action is not being taken in the case because some of these leaders have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) now?”
The SAD leader also took the chief minister head on while demanding an account of the expenditure being incurred by the Punjab government to host para – military forces which had been requisitioned by the AAP government from the centre.
He said the para-military forces were used to convey a sense of fear among Punjabis and had already scared the trade and industrial sector besides resulting in the targeting of innocent Sikh youth. Asserting that a revenue surplus Punjab had been indebted due to the Rs 8,500 crore expenditure incurred in hosting para-military forces during the period of strife in Punjab, Dr Cheema said “Punjabis should not be saddled with the bill of hosting para-military forces who are not needed”.
Also accusing the chief minister of polarizing society in league with the central government, Dr Cheema said the former was proud of stating that he had many firsts to his credit and that practically nothing had been done during the last 70 years in Punjab. Giving an account of the true report card of Bhagwant Mann, the SAD leader said “no chief minister had destroyed the spirit of federalism in the last seventy years as done by Bhagwant Mann who did not raise his voice against extension of the jurisdiction of the BSF nor failed to defend the State’s right over Chandigarh”.
He said similarly no chief minister of Punjab had in the last seventy years signed a mou with another State and handed over all his powers to the latter. “No chief minister has used Rs 750 crore public relations budget to further the cause of another chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal) across the country.
No chief minister has also achieved the dubious distinction of taking a loan of Rs 42,000 crore in a single year”, he added. Dr Cheema also highlighted how morality had also never hit such a low as now with a AAP legislator and his father (Goldy Kamboj and Surinder Kamboj) indulging in extortion in a sex racket.
CLICK HERE to Subscribe to YesPunjab Telegram Channel & receive Important News Updates
