Sitting back at the Opposition’s ‘remote control’ government charge over AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal taking a meeting of senior Punjab officials, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that it was his decision to send the officials “for training purposes”.
“If needed, for training purposes, I will send my officers to Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and even Israel. Why should anyone object to that. They (Delhi government) are specialists in education, power, health. Why shouldn’t I send the officers?,” Mann told reporters.
Earlier this week, Kejriwal held a meeting with “top officers” of Punjab to discuss ways to implement the party’s promise of providing 300 units of free electricity in the state. The meeting was held in the absence of Mann. The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress alleged that the Punjab government was being run through “remote control” from Delhi.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh called Bhagwant Mann a “rubber stamp” while Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu alleged it is a “breach of federalism.”
“Is Captain Amarinder Singh everybody? Who is the opposition? Where is the opposition? Don’t criticise for the sake of criticising. It was I who sent the officers to Delhi, for training. They can go anywhere to learn good things? I allowed it,” a defiant Mann said.
On Monday, Kejriwal had held a meeting with the Punjab chief secretary, secretary (power) and chairman of the state power utility in Delhi over the electricity-related issue, even as Bhagwant Mann was not present in the meeting, the sources said.
Congress Legislative Party leader in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa claimed that people of the state did not vote for the government which was to be “remote controlled” from Delhi.
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also dubbed Kejriwal’s meeting as “unconstitutional and unacceptable”.
Taking a dig at the AAP, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring asked whether senior state officials will have to be present in Kejriwal’s ‘darbar’.
