AAP, Cong working in alliance to divert people’s attention: Punjab BJP chief

Chandigarh, March 19 (IANS) Punjab BJP President, Sunil Jakhar, on Thursday said AAP and the Congress are working in alliance to divert people’s attention from the real issues of the state.

Criticising both parties strongly for spreading misinformation against the Centre and the BJP, Jakhar told the media here that such attempts to spread hatred against the Centre in a border state like Punjab could prove extremely dangerous for the future of the state.

Quoting facts and figures, the BJP President said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has finally admitted that Rs 13,000 crore was received from the Centre for disaster relief, out of which only Rs 477 crore was spent and the remaining amount was misused by previous governments.

He expressed surprise that it took the Chief Minister so long to review government treasury records.

He said leaders of the Congress, whom the Chief Minister is accusing of misusing funds, are acting as defenders of the AAP government in the Parliament.

He said the Congress has completely failed in its role as an Opposition, and its leaders have either “sold their voice” to Mann or lost the ability to speak due to their past corruption.

He said both parties are now jointly spreading hatred against the Centre and the BJP.

Jakhar countered what he called a false narrative against the BJP-led Central government by presenting data.

He said during the UPA government the agriculture budget was Rs 21,933 crore, whereas the BJP government has increased it to Rs 1.30 lakh crore.

Under the PM-Kisan scheme, Rs 4.27 lakh crore has been directly transferred to farmers’ bank accounts.

Fertilizer subsidies, which were Rs 18,460 crore during the UPA era, have increased to Rs 1.77 lakh crore under the BJP government this year.

Targeting the Chief Minister, the BJP President questioned why the state government has not implemented its own agriculture policy.

He said the draft of the farmers’ policy has been ready since October 2023, so what is the Chief Minister waiting for? He questioned what steps are being taken if there are shortcomings in the policy.

--IANS

vg/rad