The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today termed AAP Convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to Chandigarh as a sinister media stunt staged with the sole purpose of befooling the people of Delhi, Punjab as well as the country. It said the visit itself was a flop show as it did not yield anything.Addressing a press conference here, former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa said Kejriwal was in the habit of inventing a make belief solution to the problems being faced by the people of Delhi. “Last year he came up with the odd-even scheme and spent crores of rupees on a media blitz to take political mileage of the same. This year he has come up with the idea of meeting the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab with the sole purpose of flogging these meetings as an achievement”.The Akali leader said the result of the meeting with Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar was there for all to see. “All Kejriwal could say after the meeting with his Haryana counterpart was that concern had been expressed about health issues due to stubble burning. Kejriwal could have expressed this sentiment on the phone but chose to indulge in cheap publicity on this sensitive issue even though he knew that the talks with his Haryana counterpart would not have any outcome”.Dhindsa said it was a fact that stubble burning alone was not responsible for the smog in Delhi. “If that was so Chandigarh would have been the worst sufferer.
The truth is that Kejriwal has failed to check vehicular pollution and is now trying to blame the farmers of Punjab and Haryana for his own failures. If he is really serious about this issue he should provide financial assistance to Punjab and Haryana to tackle stubble burning. Agriculture equipment and even establishment of bio mass plants can provide a lasting solution to utilize paddy straw”, he added.Asking Kejriwal to desist from deceit, Mr Parminder Dhindsa said the Delhi CM should first tell the people what he had done to reduce the effect of smog in Delhi. “Forget doing anything on this account, you have even refused to take a stand on this sensitive issue. While you are holding the Haryana and Punjab governments responsible for the smog in Delhi by accusing them of failing to check stubble burning, your Punjab legislature party leader is encouraging the same. Please clarify your stand on this issue immediately”, the Akali leader added.Stating that this as well as other instances were indicative of the double speak of AAP on every sensitive issue concerning Punjab, the former FM said recently the party’s Punjab unit had held a symbolic photo op to protest passage of water from Punjab to Rajasthan even as Kejriwal was demanding that Punjab’s waters be given to Delhi through the SYL canal. “Whom are you trying to fool? Why do you always adopt double standards on every issue concerning Punjab? You recently even did the same on the issue of drugs by choosing to remain silent when your legislature party leader Sukhpal Khaira was summoned as an accused in an international drug racket in which his co-accused had already been awarded a 20 year jail sentence”. EOM