The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab president and MP Bhagwant Mann said that the Punjab government was absent from Punjab today as Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh was sitting in his palaces in the cold valleys while the ministers and MLAs were sitting in Delhi to save their seats. During a press conference convened at the party headquarters here on Monday, Bhagwant Mann while commenting on the slogan - Chaunda Hai Punjab, Captain Di Sarkar, said that today the people of Punjab was saying – 'Pachtaunda hai Punjab, bana ke Captain Di Sarkar (Punjab regrets by forming Captain's government).Mann said that Captain Amarinder Singh did not fulfill the written promises made by the Congress government to the people in their election manifesto presented in 2017; but Captain Amarinder even reneged after taking oath of Sri Gutka Sahib. “The culprits responsible for the desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Kotkapura firing case have not been punished till date. On the contrary, the people responsible for this tragic incident are roaming freely and enjoying themselves,” he added. Mann said that even today, the drug mafia, transport mafia, cable mafia; sand and mining mafia were operating in the state in the same manner as it was during the Badal government.The AAP leader said that it would have been better if the Congress government of Punjab had gone to Delhi and accompanied the Congress High Command to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get the anti-farmer agriculture bills repealed. “It would have been better, if the Captain government had gone to the BJP government at the centre to get medicines, vaccines, ventilators, etc to save the people of Punjab from the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Congress leaders have gone to Delhi to save their seats,” said Mann.
He said that the Captain-led Congress government had abandoned Punjab, as the people today did not have the necessary vaccines, medicines and ICU beds to protect them from the Covid virus.Commenting on the statement of Captain Amarinder Singh for giving a grant of Rs 10 lakh to the villages getting 100 percent vaccination, Mann said that the Chief Minister should tell from where the vaccines can be obtained. He said that government hospitals and dispensaries in the constituency of state health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu were lying dry without vaccination. Taking a dig at Sukhbir Singh Badal, Mann said that the Badals had ruined the health services, transport and the entire government system for 10 years in a row. “Now Sukhbir Badal is claiming that when the Akali Dal government will come to power, the women of the state will be provided free travel facility in AC buses. But why, the Badal family does not provide this facility in their AC buses right now?” said Mann.AAP MLA from Delhi and Punjab affairs in-charge Jarnail Singh, said that the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government had not fulfilled a single election promise. He said that by promising to supply power to industries at Rs 5 per unit, Captain had given expensive power to the industries across the country. “Now that the elections are approaching, Captain has reduced the price of electricity by 50 paise per unit, while it has been increased by Rs 10 per unit in four years,” he added. He said that the people of Punjab would definitely punish Akali Dal Badal as well as the Congress for reneging on their promises. Party’s general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat, senior leaders Narinder Singh Shergill and Neena Mittal were also present on the occasion.