Union minister of state for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that infighting among top brass of Punjab Police showed that chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has lost control over his departments.
He was talking to the media on the sidelines of the BJP protest here at Bhandari Bridge over repeated disruptions in the budget session of Parliament. Puri said CMs of other states hold regular meetings with director general-level officers of the police to know about their concerns and issues, but the Punjab CM was not even sparing time to meet his own MPs and MLAs.
He said Punjab Police are an efficient and disciplined and force, but due to the bad political class at the helm of affairs, the force is losing its sheen.
Referring to the media reports about Captain’s recent meeting with Punjab Police top officials in which he reprimanded them or face the axe in the wake of infighting, Puri said: “I never heard that a CM talks with top police officers in such a manner and the issue is flaunted in public. Rather, it should have been handled internally. If anyone does illegal task, action should be taken under civil service laws instead of making the issue public.”
Puri said Punjab Congress president and Gurdaspur MP Sunil Jakhar left the office of Punjab CM in a huff after waiting some time on Wednesday but Captain didn’t bother to meet him. He said it was a result of “absent governance” in the state. “If a CM does not meet his party’s MP, what the people of the state can expect from him?” he questioned.
{{/usCountry}}Puri said Punjab Congress president and Gurdaspur MP Sunil Jakhar left the office of Punjab CM in a huff after waiting some time on Wednesday but Captain didn’t bother to meet him. He said it was a result of “absent governance” in the state. “If a CM does not meet his party’s MP, what the people of the state can expect from him?” he questioned.
{{/usCountry}}GST exemption on ‘langar’ items
Asked about his stand on waiving GST (goods and service tax) on ‘langar’ items at the Golden Temple, Puri said, the Centre will soon respond on the Punjab assembly’s resolution seeking complete waiver of GST on ‘langar’.
Addressing protesters, the minister said the budget session of Parliament could not run a single day due to disruptions by Congress MPs, especially belonging to Punjab — Ravneet Singh Bittu, Gurjeet Singh Aujla and Sunil Jakhar. He said instead of highlighting public issues, the Congress MPs disrupted the session unnecessarily.
He said: “The Congress killed democracy in Parliament and the BJP’s protest via fasting is to bring its crime in front of the people.”
Punjab BJP president and member of the Rajya Sabha Shwait Malik said the state government has failed to implement the central government’s people-friendly and welfare schemes. He said before coming into power, the Congress had promised to waive Rs 90,000 crore worth of loans of farmers, but it is now backtracking on its promise.