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Sukhbir writes to Punjab governor, says recover ₹300cr spent on ads from AAP
In a letter to Punjab governor, the SAD president Sukhbir Badal said the AAP government had earmarked ₹750 crore for government advertisements in the current financial year and has already spent a majority of this amount.
Chandigarh Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday requested Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit to order a probe into what he alleged was a ₹300 crore advertisement scam perpetrated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by using state funds to further its political goals and recover the same from the party.
In a letter to the governor, the SAD president said the AAP government had earmarked ₹750 crore for government advertisements in the current financial year and has already spent a majority of this amount.
Badal said instead of spending the money to create awareness about government schemes in Punjab, the government had used the advertisements to promote AAP and its convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, across the country.
“The government has thus not only violated the guidelines of the Supreme Court on the usage of public funds for government advertisements but has also betrayed the trust of Punjabis”, he asserted.
Sukhbir said since Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena had already taken notice of similar wrongdoing in Delhi and ordered recovery of ₹97 crore, the Punjab governor should also order a probe into the entire advertising spending of the state government.
Harsimrat seeks restoration of Amritsar-Nanded Sahib flight
Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday requested union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to restore flights from Punjab to Nanded Sahib, the last resting place of Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji, asserting that the Amritsar-Nanded Sahib flight had not been restarted post the Covid pandemic.
In a letter to the civil aviation minister, Harsimrat said restarting the Amritsar-Nanded Sahib flight would facilitate pilgrims, who were unable to take other forms of transport, to visit the holy site.
She said pilgrims were particularly keen to visit Nanded Sahib on the Parkash Purab of the great Guru, which fell on December 29.
She also requested the minister to rename Delhi International Airport Terminal 3 as Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji International Airport to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of the guru in protecting religious freedom during a time of tyranny.
