Chandigarh, March 9 – Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora accused the Congress on Monday of avoiding debates in the Assembly to conceal its "politically bankrupt" record.
He contrasted the Opposition's unfulfilled promises with the achievements of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government.
Addressing the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and other Congress leaders, Arora said, "They call themselves the Leaders of the Opposition. We listened to them patiently. But when it was our turn to present the facts, they walked out, just as they did on March 6 during the Governor's Address. They boycott without listening or reading. They simply want to avoid Punjab's real issues. They are running away because they know their five-year tenure will not stand scrutiny."
Holding up the Congress party's 2017 manifesto, Arora challenged its leaders to show even a single promise they had fulfilled during their five-year tenure.
He pointed to their "Ghar-Ghar Rozgar" flagship scheme and the unemployment allowance of Rs 2,500 per month to every unemployed youth. Over five years, this would have amounted to Rs 1.5 lakh per person. Can you show me one youth in Punjab who received this from you?
He highlighted that, on the other hand, the CM Mann-led government has provided over 63,000 government jobs to youth in four years. The Cabinet minister then reminded the Congress of its promise to establish mohalla clinics.
"You copied Arvind Kejriwal's Delhi model and promised a clinic for every 1,000 people. You did not build a single one. In contrast, our government has established 881 such facilities and is all set to launch 240 more."
On sports infrastructure, he accused the previous government of complete failure. "You (the Congress) promised a sports complex in every village. You built none. Our government has constructed 3,100 and is adding 6,000 more in this budget."