CM Bhagwant Mann blames predecessors for all ills plaguing Punjab, Oppn skips debate
Defeat in elections of these parties (Shiromani Akali Dal, Congress, BJP) who previously ruled Punjab doesn’t absolve them of their of acts of commission and omission on the state’s interests, says Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann made a scathing attack on previous governments for all the ills plaguing the border state while addressing the much-anticipated ‘Main Punjab Bolda Haan’ debate even as Opposition leaders skipped the event in Ludhiana on Wednesday.
“It pains me to see how the previous leaders have looted the state of Punjab,” Mann said during his over 90-minute address at the Dr Manmohan Singh Auditorium at Punjab Agricultural University here.
Mann was the only leader present on stage as the other four chairs remained empty with Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, state Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa besides Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal staying away from the event.
Mann, who was under fire from the opposition parties over the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, had thrown the challenge to Opposition leaders on October 8. They initially accepted the challenge, then put riders and finally kept away, calling the debate a gimmick. “For the last 25 to 30 days, the opposition leaders have only made excuses to skip the debate. Ever since I tweeted regarding the debate, they got scared and ran away,” the chief minister said.
The venue was heavily guarded, and several activists and people, including members of various teacher, farmer and student organisations, who reached the PAU, were not allowed to enter the campus.
Sharp attack over SYL
Mann came prepared with a detailed presentation and started his speech with the key SYL issue, where he delved into its history and accused previous governments – whether that of Congress or the SAD – of compromising the state’s interests. The CM said that Congress leaders shamelessly sang paeans in favour of SYL through a white paper brought on the floor of Punjab Vidhan Sabha in the early 1980s. He said that while a single Act, ‘Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956’, is applicable throughout India for resolving water disputes among states but Punjab is the only state where a separate arrangement has been made for the distribution of water between Punjab and Haryana, in the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966. “Hence, the Union government has always discriminated against Punjab but the leaders of Punjab brought white paper to justify this treacherous move which is shameful,” he said.
The CM further said that after assuming charge of the state in 1977, (Akali leader) Parkash Singh Badal did not even once stop the work on SYL. Rather Badal through a letter in 1978, demanded another ₹3 crore for the construction of SYL, he claimed, adding that on March 31, 1979, the then Akali Dal government received ₹1.5 crore from the Government of Haryana for constructing the SYL canal.
He said that Badal acquired the requisite land for constructing the SYL canal, in a very short period by imposing emergency clauses. Mann reiterated that Punjab has no spare water to share with any other state so instead of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, the project should be now conceived as Yamuna Satluj Link (YSL). “Sutlej River has already dried up and there is no question of sharing even a single drop of water from it,” he said, insisting that the state government has emphatically presented the issue of the less availability of water.
The CM also accused the opposition leaders of corruption in various sectors, including transport, finance and construction of toll plazas, when they were in power for several decades. “The previous government stopped state-run AC buses from various cities in Punjab to Delhi in 2018. People were forced to pay exorbitant prices for travel in private buses. We started the buses again,” he said.
Dig at opposition leaders
Throughout his speech, Mann kept taking digs at the Opposition leaders. Mann pointed at Sunil Jakhar’s vacant seat and remarked that former Union minister late Balram Jakhar (father of Sunil Jakhar) and former Congress leader Amarinder Singh, who is now with the BJP, accompanied then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to the ground-breaking ceremony of the SYL canal at Kapoori in Patiala. “Shayad yehi karan hai ki aaj Jakhar ji yahan aaye nahi (This could be the reason for Sunil Jakhar’s absence from the debate today),” he said in a lighter vein.
Speaking about toll plazas, Mann, while pointing to the chair meant for the LoP, said that he (Bajwa) was the state PWD minister when he was on a spree to start toll plazas. “Janab tab PWD minister the, aur toll par toll la rahe the” he said. “We have closed 14 toll plazas ever since we have assumed power in the state,” he said.
Mann added that the Ladhowal toll plaza in Ludhiana is on his hit list as he is aware of how people are being looted. Pointing to the vacant seat of SAD president Sukhbir Badal, Mann stated that the party’s representation in Vidhan Sabha is so low that he does not even deserve to be on this stage.
Achievements listed by CM
State’s own tax revenue enhanced by 13.2% as compared to 8% during the Akali regime in 2012-17 and 6.1% during the Congress regime from 2017-22
VAT/ GST are up 16.6%, state excise 37% and stamp & registration 27.8%
Restored 1400kms of canals left abandoned by successive govts
Paid off debts of PUNSUP, PMIDC/PFC, Land Mortgage Bank, Punjab Mandi Board, Punjab Sugarfed
37,100 jobs given to youth in 18 months
Investments worth ₹57,796 crore firmed up which will provide 2.98 lakh jobs
Colour-coded stamp papers launched to facilitate industrialists
