Cong’s Bajwa accuses Kejriwal of using Punjab to increase AAP’s footprint in other states

Qadian MLA Bajwa — who is also the Congress’ Leader of Opposition in the Assembly — while addressing a press meet on Wednesday, also asked Kejriwal and Punjab CM, Bhagwant Mann, to clear their stand on the controversial Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL), while highlighting that none of the five AAP MPs who had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha recently had ‘released any statement on the issue’.

Bajwa also accused AAP leader Raghav Chadha of taking calls on postings and transfers of IAS and IPS officers in Punjab, saying such postings and transfers had ‘Chadha’s stamp’.

“It has started to appear as if [Punjab CM Bhagwant] Mann is a puppet on strings,” said Bajwa, alleging that things were being remote controlled from Delhi.

Bajwa also cornered the AAP government on its pre-poll promise of free electricity and said that all promises made by the party were being tweaked and there was “no clarity” whether Punjab State Power Corporation Limited was for or against it.

The Qadian MLA demanded a white paper on the issue of free electricity promise, questioning if the AAP government had enough resources and money to provide power as promised to domestic consumers, the agriculture sector and the industry.

“I live in my constituency and I can tell you that a major power crisis is about to hit the state,” said Bajwa, questioning the AAP government’s preparedness to handle coal shortage and buying expensive power from national grid in the backdrop of its promise for round-the-clock supply.

Bajwa also minced no words in questioning the police action against BJP leader, Kumar VIshwas, who was booked by Ropar police on April 12. He said Punjab police went all the way to Ghaziabad to serve a notice to Vishwas at his Ghaziabad residence. Separately, in a tweet, he also expressed resentment over a Punjab police team serving a notice of party leader Alka Lamba in same case.

“Badlaav nahi, badla shuru ho gaya hai (It is not the change, but vendetta that has started),” the firebrand Congress leader from Majha said in the press conference, alleging that instead of focusing on law and order in the state where “life and property of the people was not safe”, the AAP government in Punjab was unleashing the police machinery against its political opponents.

He accused Kejriwal of not acting against mafia “despite [Kejriwal] claiming that mafia contacted him to strike a deal with him”.

He also sought to know how many Punjab police commandos were deployed for the security of Kejriwal, while alleging more security detail was put in place for Kejriwal than the state CM Mann during former’s visit to Punjab.

Bajwa also lashed out at AAP government in Punjab, and Kejriwal in particular, for having promised to mobilise resources to increase the state’s revenue. He said Mann had stated that the government will probe how Punjab came under “a huge debt of Rs 3 lakh crore” and added it should not be “camouflaged” to skirt the pre-poll promises AAP made to the electors.

He also put under scanner AAP government in Punjab for non-payment of dues to sugarcane growers by private players and the co-operative societies.