The Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a “Janata ki Vidhan Sabha” (people’s assembly), a mock session of Punjab assembly in which the party demanded CBI probe into the “missing” SDRF funds worth ₹12,000 crore.
A resolution for the CBI probe was moved by party vice-president Subhash Sharma which was passed by the “Janata ki Vidhan Sabha” unanimously. Former deputy speaker of Lok Sabha Charanjit Atwal was acting as speaker of the mock session of the House.
A resolution was also passed to hold an inquiry by a high court judge to identify guilty ministers and officers responsible for the floods, and to provide government jobs to families who lost their loved ones due to the floods.
After Atwal initiated the session, Punjab BJP’s working state president and MLA Ashwani Sharma moved the condemnation resolution terming the present flood situation as “Maan (CM Bhagwant Singh Mann) made disaster”.
Ashwani Sharma, in his concluding remarks, said that for the massive destruction caused by the floods in Punjab, nature was less responsible, while the “CM and his government bore greater responsibility”.
“The floods in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, and Amritsar districts were entirely due to ministers and officers, for which the BJP has full evidence and facts. If the government had constituted a committee after the 2023 floods to investigate the causes, such devastation would not have occurred this year. If the water resources department had carried out works in 2023 at the 133 vulnerable sites identified on the Sutlej, Ghaggar, and Beas rivers, the water would not have entered the fields,” said Sharma.
{{/usCountry}}“The floods in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, and Amritsar districts were entirely due to ministers and officers, for which the BJP has full evidence and facts. If the government had constituted a committee after the 2023 floods to investigate the causes, such devastation would not have occurred this year. If the water resources department had carried out works in 2023 at the 133 vulnerable sites identified on the Sutlej, Ghaggar, and Beas rivers, the water would not have entered the fields,” said Sharma.
{{/usCountry}}He said illegal mining in Punjab’s rivers is the biggest cause of floods, alleging that the Punjab government has remained silent on this.
Former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal said, “Today, the finances of the state are in such a mess that the finance minister is levying cuts on research budgets in universities and other higher education institutions. Next could be to cut the budget on health services and other important sectors.”
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh targeted the government, saying: “From the beginning of 2025 till September, what preparations were made to prevent floods? Were any drains cleaned? Was the district administration alerted in advance?”
He said all these matters must now be investigated by the CBI so that the truth could come out.
Former Union minister Vijay Sampla said this government had promised moon to the people of Punjab but has “delivered nothing”.