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Mann not replying to my letters despite Supreme Court directions: Banwarilal Purohit
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of acting against the Constitution by not replying to his letters. He also accused the government of delayed action in several cases, including the delay in action against cabinet minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, who is facing ?sexual misconduct? allegations.
A day after chief minister Bhagwant Mann took digs at him at a rally in Delhi, Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit on Monday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of acting against the Constitution by not replying to his letters.
Purohit said the chief minister has not replied to his l0 letters despite the Supreme Court’s order in this regard. “The top court had in March clearly mentioned that the chief minister of every state has the duty to communicate with the governor, reply to the letters and submit every document or action taken report which has been asked for,” he said while addressing the media at UT secretariat here.
The governor said he is keeping a record of the government’s late responses and delayed action in several cases, including the delay in action against cabinet minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, who is facing “sexual misconduct” allegations. “I will take up the matter with the Supreme Court and President of India,” he added. Purohit also recalled that when he had sought information on some issues, the chief minister had said that his government was accountable only to three crore Punjabis.
The governor’s statement came a day after Mann claimed that governor had not allowed his state government to hold a budget session of Vidhan Sabha from March 3 this year. Addressing a party rally in Delhi on Sunday, Mann said that the governor had denied permission to hold the budget session, forcing the state government to move the Supreme Court.
Mann and Purohit have been at loggerheads over a number of issues. After the AAP government filed a petition on the standoff over the budget session, the Supreme Court had told both to perform their duty.
Purohit, who undertook a two-day tour of border areas of the state last week, said that Pakistan army and government were involved in smuggling drugs to Punjab state through drones.
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Punjab CM hits back
Chandigarh: Hours after Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s remarks, chief minister Bhagwant Mann posted a video of the governor’s address on his Twitter handle to stress that Purohit has stopped referring to the AAP-led state government as “my government” at the instance of the opposition party in the House on March 3.
Mann asked the governor to explain why he had “failed” to discharge his constitutional duty by not using the word “my government” during his address.
The chief minister said it is unfortunate that “in the present central regime, selected ones are unnecessarily peeping into the affairs of the elected ones”.
Undue hiccups are being raised to derail the smooth functioning of the state government, alleged Mann in a statement. The “gubernatorial” Raj Bhawans are now acting as the state headquarters of the BJP which is a very dangerous trend for Indian democracy, the Aam Aadmi Party leader alleged.
