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High drama at LMA town hall as Bharat Bhushan Ashu storms out after spat with panellists
Apart from cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, other members on the panel for LMA townhall were Shiromani Akali Dal’s Ludhiana (West) candidate Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Aam Aadmi Party’s Dakha nominee KNS Kang, Punjab Lok Congress’ S Satinderpal Singh Tajpuri, who is contesting from Ludhiana (South), and Tarun Jain Bawa of Sanyukt Samaj Morcha who is fighting from Ludhiana (West) constituency.
High drama was witnessed at a town hall organised by the Ludhiana Management Association (LMA) on Thursday evening as cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu stormed out of the venue, minutes after he arrived, following a heated argument with the panellists.
Other members on the panel were Shiromani Akali Dal’s Ludhiana (West) candidate Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Aam Aadmi Party’s Dakha nominee KNS Kang, Punjab Lok Congress’ S Satinderpal Singh Tajpuri, who is contesting from Ludhiana (South), and Tarun Jain Bawa of Sanyukt Samaj Morcha who is fighting from Ludhiana (West) constituency.
The discussion started around 7pm with Grewal and Kang speaking on the roadmap for the industry. Ashu reached around 8pm, an hour late, and began citing the work done for the industry during the last five years of Congress regime. To this, Bawa asked him to elaborate on the future plans for the industry rather than listing out what has already been done.
This enraged Ashu, who stated that the other panellists can’t seem to “tolerate” him and were deliberately not letting him speak. “If you do not like me, just wait for two minutes in silence and let me speak,” he said.
By then, a section of Ashu’s supporters, who were among the audience, started heckling which prompted a representative of LMA to ask them to maintain decorum. The supporters, however, continued heckling and even started arguing with the organisers.
As all cameras panned towards his supporters, who were now engaged in a heated argument with the organisers, Ashu walked off the stage, with his supporters trailing behind him.
Ashu remained at the venue for a mere five minutes during the event.
Roadmap for industry
Earlier during the discussion, Grewal chalked out a roadmap for Ludhiana industry, assuring power surplus and better road infrastructure in Focal Point area. KNS Kang, who is contesting from Dakha on an AAP ticket, reiterated that industry is leaving Punjab and no new units are being set up. He also claimed that the Congress and Akali Dal are working together.
Tajpuri of Punjab Lok Congress, which is in alliance with BJP, elaborated that for a state to progress, the role of industry is very important. “We already have a government at the Centre and we can assure that the functioning of the government will be smooth and no hurdles will be faced by the common man,” he said.
