A day after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Praise for exposing Navjot Singh Sidhu’s claims Charanjit Singh Channi The chief of Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee, the government in the state attacked AAP over its announcements ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections.
Sidhu said that true leaders do not give lollipops but focus on building the foundation of society and economy.
“Shortcuts and instant coffee are not viable for long term and such schemes are getting exposed these days. What is more powerful than a populist measure or a lollipop, a budget allocation policy… If you give people 26 lakh jobs lollipops, what does it mean if you pay Rs 30,000 per person? You need Rs 93,000. One million. Then Rs 1,000 for every woman means Rs 12,000 crore more. About Rs 3,600 crore is needed for free power up to 2 kW. These three announcements (by Kejriwal) require a budget of Rs 1.10 lakh crore. The total budget of Punjab is only Rs 72,000 crore… the state is in debt and you have announced Rs 1.10 lakh crore.
Elaborating on his vision for the state, Sidhu said: “Our Punjab model is about filling the coffers. If he has done a good job in Delhi, then I praise him (Kejriwal) too. But Punjab and Delhi are completely different states. Delhi is self-sufficient. Punjab has debt. Sidhu’s Punjab model will deposit Rs 30,000 crore in Punjab treasury. This model will come out soon. Kejriwal is saying that he will manage funds from sand and transport. But both the sectors cannot contribute more than Rs 3,000 crore. On praising Kejriwal for raising questions on his own government, Sidhu said, “I have not started raising questions today. I was asking questions to the last man who slammed the doors on me. From the first cabinet meeting, Navjot Singh Sidhu has said….I do not mind praising someone’s criticism. All I am saying is that there should be budgetary allocation. On various announcements made by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for various sections, Sidhu said, “Whatever our Chief Minister has said…the party will support him and stand by him.”
He said that Channi did that in two months which former CM Amarinder Singh could not do in four and a half years.
The state Congress president said, “His (Chani’s) intention is right.” He said that the Chief Minister has the support of the party.
Sidhu was in Amritsar on Wednesday to inaugurate development works worth about Rs 24 crore in Amritsar East and Amritsar North assembly constituencies. He promised to do more work worth Rs 300 crore in the coming three months.
Later, in a series of tweets, Sidhu said that people “will not fall prey to populist schemes”.
He tweeted, ‘UPA government made policies to transform India’s society and economy. Today Punjab needs a policy based structural change in its economy. People will not fall prey to populist schemes… True leaders will not give lollipops but will focus on building the foundation of society and economy…Punjab model is the way forward.”