E-Paper
Manpreet, Sukhbir spar on Twitter over delay in staff salaries
The war of words between the two Badals broke out on Twitter after the Akali DAl chief blamed the Congress government’s failures for the employees of five departments not getting their salaries on time.
Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal and his estranged cousin and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday blamed each other for the delay in salaries of government employees in the state.
The war of words between the two Badals broke out on Twitter after the Akali DAl chief blamed the Congress government’s failures for the employees of five departments not getting their salaries on time.
“The FM @MSBADAL justifies delay in staff salaries saying departments did not furnish details. How is that any fault of employees? Typical of the @INCPunjab to abandon those it is responsible for and look for scapegoats (sic),” Sukhbir tweeted after the staff of five government departments staged protests here against the delay in their November salaries.
The finance department had not released the salaries of employees of technical education, irrigation, agriculture and industry departments due to their failure to provide details of bank accounts and contractual staff despite repeated reminders.
Manpreet, who had backed the department move, responded to Sukhbir’s post with a stinging counter, pointing the finger at the previous Akali government for the present fiscal crisis.
“Sukhbir Ji @officeofssbadal, I am only trying to clear the mess that you left behind, and get rid of the culture of hidden bank accounts, not reporting on actual finances, fiscal ineptness, and cleverly crafted contracts that hurt Punjab but enrich others (sic),” he posted on the micro-blogging site.
The SAD president then accused Manpreet of trying to shift the blame where it is not due. “For the last three years, you have been just making excuses. If it is that difficult for you, why not quit instead of making people pay? We never faulted on salaries and social welfare schemes because people’s lives are sacrosanct. But for you, they are collateral damage,” he tweeted.
Sukhbir also said Congress ministers were now proudly receiving awards for infra projects created in the SAD-BJP regime. “It satisfies me to see our work benefitting people. But can you name a single project of your government which added a feather to the state’s cap?” he asked the FM only to see him hit back with a flurry of posts
Manpreet accused the Akali leader of leaving Punjab with ₹31,000-crore cash credit limit (CCL) debt which he (Sukhbir) “signed one day before counting of votes, and mortgaged the future” of the state. “Coming from someone @officeofssbadal who signed of future revenues of Punjab Mandi Board, PIDB & PUDA to satisfy his ego and adding to Punjab’s debt,” he tweeted. There has been no love lost between the two from the time Manpreet, who was also the finance minister in the Akali government, fell out with Sukhbir and was sacked from the ministry in 2010 and then expelled from the party.
