Ludhiana: Almost six months after the Parliamentary elections, MoS Ravneet Bittu campaigned for BJP candidates ahead of the MC election scheduled for December 21.
Bittu, who lost the MP seat to Congress’s Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, was seen meeting voters personally and exhorting them to make a wise choice in the election. He said that if BJP formed house and elected the mayor, he would have direct access to the Centre, which would enable him to get funds for the city.
A people’s person
Bittu was seen in his element in the city, navigating narrow lanes with ease and touching the feet of elderly residents with all the approachability of a friendly neighbour. He also met youngsters with enthusiasm and clicked selfies with them. A few people who met him appeared to be confused about the actual candidate.
Centre’s efforts in city
Addressing city residents, Bittu claimed that most of the development work in the city was being done with funds from the Centre. He said that the ruling party did not have the funds to undertake development work but was still spending money on publicity. Bittu slammed AAP for taking credit for addition of 100 electric buses in cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala, saying that the buses were being allocated under the PM E-bus sewa scheme of the Centre. He said that the Union govt was bearing the expenses of the scheme.
Bittu said that the smart city mission scheme was funded by the Centre and the state govt used Rs 200 crore from the funds for the Buddha Dariya Rejuvenation Project.
He maintained that enough grant had been given under the Swachh Bharat mission to get rid of solid waste and assured that the grant would continue.