Punjab: Opposition flays CM’s Chennai visit amid floods

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who visited several villages in the grip of floodwaters Khadoor Sahib constituency, said the CM had “abandoned the people of the state” when they needed him most

The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have flayed chief minister Bhagwant Mann over his Chennai (Tamil Nadu) visit at a time when Punjab is reeling under floods. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, “Given the state of emergency caused in Punjab due to floods, it is incumbent upon the chief minister to stay put to personally monitor the situation. But he chose to be present in Tamil Nadu for the launch of a breakfast scheme for schoolchildren there.”

Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring says the CM should have cancelled all engagements and focused on flood control and relief measures in the state.

He said the CM should have cancelled all engagements and focused on flood control and relief measures in the state. He alleged that no preparations were made in anticipation of heavy rains. “We had warned the government well in advance. Although advance flood preparation is the standard norm of any government, the AAP government failed even in the standard practice”, he said.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Punjab working president Ashwani Sharma said, “Instead of cancelling his programmes and rushing to flood-hit villages to help the needy, Mann abandoned Punjabis in crisis. This exposes his complete lack of empathy or concern.”

“Nearly half of Punjab is submerged. Farmers, labourers and common people are battling hunger and despair,” he said.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who visited several villages in the grip of floodwaters Khadoor Sahib constituency, said the CM had “abandoned the people of the state” when they needed him most. “The CM minister should have been here leading the relief operations. This is also a reason why the relief work is very slow with farmers complaining that drainage officials are doing nothing to drain out floodwaters. Also no efforts were made to strengthen ‘bandhs’ in advance when reports of sustained widespread rainfall in Himachal Pradesh were available with the state,” he said.