Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday accused the BJP-led central government of muzzling the state’s federal and constitutional rights by elevating justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court without obtaining his approval.
Addressing the ‘Lok Milni’ programme at Ghudda village in Bathinda, the CM said he had received a communication to grant assent to the name of the next chief justice, but the Union government did not wait for the Punjab CM’s response.
At the event, the CM said he would fly to Delhi from Bathinda tomorrow to meet jailed minister Sanjeev Arora, who is in judicial custody following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in May this year, and would return the same day to convene the ‘Lok Milni’ event at Mehraj village in Bathinda.
“Earlier, the name of Punjab and Haryana high court’s second senior-most judge, Justice GS Sandhawalia, was recommended by the (Supreme Court collegium) as chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh high court. But he was finally appointed as the chief justice of Himachal Pradesh after the MP government did not give its consent to justice Sandhawalia. But in our case, the Centre has bypassed mandatory consultation procedures and ignored the Punjab government during the appointment process,” said the CM.
In his public address, Mann said that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is now keen to realign with the BJP, which is “weakening” the federal powers of Punjab.
{{/usCountry}}In his public address, Mann said that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is now keen to realign with the BJP, which is “weakening” the federal powers of Punjab.
{{/usCountry}}He claimed that the Centre is intending to reintroduce the contentious farm laws, which the BJP-led Union government repealed with the support of Akalis.
The CM claimed that despite being the ancestral place of the Badal family, late CM Parkash Singh Badal did not maintain a connection with the residents of Ghudda village.
Punjab leading in groundwater conservation
He said that due to the efforts of the AAP government, the state has registered a significant turnaround in its groundwater level situation, according to a latest survey.
Mann said that Punjab’s groundwater has started to climb for the first time in a generation, rising by 3 to 5 metres across several blocks.
During his public address, the CM connected a phone call to Krishan Kumar, principal secretary, department of water resources, to share details with the public directly from a microphone about a landmark development in releasing the highest-ever volume of water in canals.
Kumar said that Punjab has released more than 40,000 cusecs of water in irrigation channels, up from the average 22,000-23,000 cusecs previously.
The CM targeted the opposition leaders for “levelling fabricated charges against his wife and other family members”.
He alleged that since the opposition has nothing to highlight against the AAP government, they are making personal and false accusations.