Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fierce attack on the Bhagwant Mann government, in which he dubbed the ruling dispensation as “kattar beiman”, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the “biggest leader of those who stole donations meant for Ram Mandir had come to Punjab to deliver lectures on honesty”.
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Pannu further said while Modi accused Punjab of running on debt, he deliberately remained silent on the Centre’s pending dues to the state. “The Centre owes Punjab around ₹50,000 crore. Punjab’s flood relief funds are pending. The Rural Development Fund dues are also pending. Instead of announcing the release of Punjab’s rightful money, the Prime Minister chose to spread falsehoods about the state’s financial condition,” he added.
Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the people of Punjab had high expectations from Modi’s visit, but he came only to indulge in politics and did not address the state’s pending dues, which people had expected him to take up.
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Kejriwal posted on X shortly after the Prime Minister addressed a rally in Jalandhar.
Later, in a written statement, the AAP said the BJP had no right to speak about Punjab, alleging that its own “double-engine government had ruined the state between 2014 and 2017”. The party also accused the Prime Minister of spreading falsehoods instead of addressing Punjab’s real concerns.
Responding to Modi’s remarks on drugs in Punjab, the AAP said the BJP should first explain the repeated seizures of drugs at Gujarat’s Mundra Port. “Instead of answering how such huge consignments of drugs reached Mundra Port, the BJP is trying to divert attention. The country has even heard bizarre explanations that the drugs were eaten by rats. Before pointing fingers at Punjab, the BJP must answer for what is happening in Gujarat,” the party said.
Targeting the Prime Minister’s appeal for a “double engine government”, AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu said Punjab had already witnessed the consequences of BJP-backed double engine rule from 2014 to 2017. “It was during that period that drugs spread the most in the state and gangster culture flourished. Their own minister brought drugs into Punjab. The Prime Minister cannot erase his so-called double-engine government’s record by making political speeches,” he alleged.
