Chandigarh, March 7 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday criticised Congress MLAs for staging a walkout from the Punjab Assembly during the governor's address on Friday, claiming they did so because they couldn't hear the achievements of the AAP government.
“The Congress MLAs don't have any issues to raise. What else could they do? People do not like them,” Mann said while speaking to reporters after seeing off a batch of school principals for a training programme in Singapore.
“When they (Congress MLAs) are sitting in the House, they cannot hear the government's achievements, such as how many schools and hospitals have been built, etc. That is why they walked out of the House,” Mann alleged.
The Budget session of the Punjab Assembly got off to a stormy start on Friday after Congress MLAs raised slogans against the AAP government and staged a walkout when Governor Gulab Chand Kataria was addressing the House.
Despite Kataria requesting the opposition MLAs to raise their issues at the right time, the Congress legislators continued sloganeering against the government and later walked out of the House.
Asked about the Rs 1,000 monthly allowance for women, a key pre-poll promise of the AAP that is yet to be fulfilled, Mann said he cannot reveal anything on it before the presentation of the state Budget.
“The Budget will be presented on International Women's Day (March 8), so you can make your guess,” Mann told reporters.
The AAP government is likely to announce the Rs 1,000 monthly allowance for women when Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presents the state Budget on Sunday, nearly four years after the AAP came to power in Punjab.
On people from the state stuck in the Middle East amid the raging conflict between Iran and the US-Israel combine, Mann said the state government has shared details of 385 people, mostly tourists, with the ministries of external affairs and civil aviation.
“Some flights are landing from Oman and Dubai, and passengers are coming in batches,” the chief minister said.
Taking a swipe at Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Mann said, “Sukhbir Badal is living in a fool's paradise and building castles in the air to mislead the people. But the people of Punjab are well aware of the record of such leaders, and they will never allow them another chance to ruin the state.”
On the opposition criticising the government for painting state-owned PRTC buses blue and yellow – a colour combination associated with the AAP – Mann said the buses are private and they come under the Punjab Kilometre Scheme.
The scheme is a public-private partnership that aims to allow private operators to manage bus services, including providing buses, drivers and maintenance, while the state provides routes and fuel.
Hitting out at the Akali Dal, Mann asked who got the state government’s helicopter painted in blue and yellow.
“An astrologist asked SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal to get this colour combination,” Mann claimed, referring to the previous Akali regime in Punjab.
The chief minister also said that the state government will strongly oppose the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which proposes cost-reflective tariffs and suo motu powers for regulators to determine tariffs to improve the financial health of discoms.
“This is an attempt by the Union government to usurp the rights of the states, which cannot be tolerated. Electricity, health and education are state subjects and the Centre has no right to interfere in them,” Mann said.
To another question, Mann said, “March 20 will be a red-letter day for Punjab as Tata Steel will begin operations at its second-largest plant in India on that day.”
The project, being set up at a cost of Rs 3,200 crore in Ludhiana, will generate employment opportunities for the youth and significantly boost economic activity in the state, Mann said.
