Warring hits back at Kejriwal, Mann over Rahul Gandhi remarks Says, AAP exposed beyond redemption ‘AAP has felt the pain as Rahul Gandhi hit the nail on its head’ Chandigarh 9 September ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann over their remarks on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying the reaction from the AAP leadership showed that Gandhi had “hit the nail on its head” by exposing the Punjab government’s claims on the drug menace. Warring said it was “good that the AAP has felt the pain”, asserting that the party’s response itself demonstrated how uncomfortable its leadership had become over questions concerning the availability of drugs in Punjab. “The AAP has mastered the shameless art of self-praise. No wonder it shamelessly claims to have eradicated drugs in Punjab, when these are available like salt,” Warring said. The Punjab Congress chief alleged that...
Bhagwant Mann Government’s Negligence and Mismanagement Have Pushed Punjab into a Severe Power Crisis : Balbir Singh Sidhu
Bhagwant Mann Government’s Negligence and Mismanagement Have Pushed Punjab into a Severe Power Crisis : Balbir Singh Sidhu
Says industrialists across the state, including Mohali, are in distress
S.A.S.Nagar 9 September ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : Senior Congress leader and former Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu today said that the gross failure, corruption and poor functioning of the Bhagwant Mann government have pushed Punjab into a serious power crisis. Sidhu said that industrialists across Punjab, including those in Mohali, are in a state of distress as long and frequent power cuts are being imposed on the industrial sector, severely affecting businesses and industries. He said that due to the government’s wrong policies, Punjab’s thermal power plants have barely four days’ worth of coal left, putting power generation on the verge of disruption.
Questioning the government’s intentions, the former minister revealed that the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had offered Punjab 250 MW of solar power for 25 years at a rate of ₹2.61 per unit. However, allegedly under pressure from the government, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) did not proceed with the offer, following which the agreement for this low-cost solar power was cancelled and the power was allotted to another state. He further stated that, on the other hand, electricity is being purchased from private companies at a much higher rate of around ₹8 per unit through short-term agreements, which, he alleged, amounts to a direct loot of public money and a major scam.
The Congress leader recalled that the power purchase approved in a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited was stopped under pressure from the then Power Minister Sanjeev Arora, following which expensive agreements were entered into with private companies. He further alleged that the then Generation Director, Harjit Singh, was removed from his post without being given any reason because he had opposed this alleged malpractice. Sidhu said in strong terms that the AAP government had not added even a single new unit of thermal or solar power generation to the state’s power infrastructure during the last five years, and that industrialists and the common people are now paying the price for this failure.
He warned that if the power situation continues in the same manner, industries in Punjab will be forced to migrate to other states, resulting in the loss of employment for lakhs of young people.
He also made it clear that the Congress party stands firmly with Punjab’s industrialists and traders. If the government fails to immediately wake up, improve the situation and stop the power cuts, the Congress party will take to the streets and launch a strong and aggressive struggle against the government. The government will have to answer to the people for this failure.
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