PATRAN(Patiala): Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia today challenged Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to first implement the promises he was making to the people of Punjab, including granting allowance of Rs 1, 000 per month to all women as well as free power supply of 300 units per bill cycle, in Delhi if he was really sincere about keeping his word.
Addressing newsmen after attending a ‘shukrana path’ organized here by party Shutrana candidate Vaninder Kaur Loomba, the former minister said Kejriwal had done nothing in Delhi till now except propaganda. “Even the 200 units of power offered free of cost to citizens of Delhi are not utilized because the scheme has a clause that the entire amount will be charged if the consumption increases by even one unit above 200”.
Mr Bikram Majithia said before pontificating on what he would do in Punjab, Mr Kejriwal should tell why he was not regularizing contractual employees in Delhi. “Delhi has the most number of contractual employees. The Delhi government has given government jobs to only 414 persons during its tenure in office. Kejriwal should tell why he is anti-employee in Delhi and pro-employee in Punjab”. Mr Majithia also highlighted the poor track record of the Delhi government which even earned a rap from the Supreme Court which noted that its mohalla clinics and hospitals utterly failed to provide succor to the people during the Covid pandemic.
Meanwhile when queried, Mr Majithia asked Pradesh Congress President Navjot Sidhu to tell why he had failed to take up his challenge and appear in court in the drug case. “I had challenged him but he preferred to run away. I again challenge him to announce Mr Charanjit Singh Channi as the party’s chief ministerial candidate if the former is doing such a good job”.
The SAD leader said the chief minister Charanjit Channi was trying to escape responsibility for the abject failures of the Congress government by blaming former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh for the same. “The fact is that Channi was part of the team which swore on the Gutka Sahib along with Capt Amarinder. Channi has been a cabinet minister all along”. Mr Majithia said the chief minister had been changed but the Congress party was the same. “It is the party which has betrayed each and every section of society by reneging on its promises including conducting a complete farm loan waiver, providing one job in all 65 lakh households in Punjab, starting unemployment allowance of Rs 2, 500 per month, providing power at the rate of Rs 5 per unit and increasing all social welfare benefits”.
Mr Majithia also participated in the Akhand Path held here in memory of more than 700 farmers who sacrificed their lives in the cause of the Kisan Andolan. Senior leader Surjit Singh Rakhra was also present on the occasion.