LUDHIANA: Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia today said chief minister Bhagwant Mann had been reduced to a rubber stamp with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener Arvind Kejriwal announcing party Ludhiana West candidate Sanjeev Arora would be made a minister in case he won the by-election.
The SAD leader was addressing a press conference along with senior leader Sikandar Singh Maluka whose homecoming he welcomed and said was a signal that Akali leaders were heeding the call of Punjabis to unite and speak about Punjab.
Senior leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon was also present on the occasion.
Asserting that Kejriwal’s announcement was a clear indication that Bhagwant Mann was a mere figurehead now, Mr Bikram Majithia said “it is also a sign of desperation.
The announcement was made because AAP realises that Sanjeev Arora is losing the election and that with it Kejriwal’s chances of entering the Rajya Sabha are getting slim”.
Majithia said AAP was losing because Punjabis had realised that the Delhi model had failed and had nothing to offer to them. “The State has incurred a record Rs one lakh crore debt under the AAP government pushing the total debt to Rs four lakh crore. The State is witnessing a financial emergency with the government calling back all funds from various departments to save itself from defaulting on loans. This has resulted in a complete halt to all development work”.
Majithia said the industrial sector was also becoming unviable with power being given to this sector being the most expensive in the country. “The culture of extortions and targeted killings along with state of lawlessness is resulting in home grown industrialists shifting to other States”.
Majithia also highlighted how each section of society had been cheated in the AAP regime. “Government employees were promised Own Pension Scheme (OPS) and a notification was also done in this regard but it is still to be implemented. Similarly the Rs 1, 000 per month allowance to women has not been implemented for four years now”, the SAD leader added.