'Congress looted Punjab', CM Mann says during AAP campaign for Nov 13 bypolls

Gurdaspur, Nov 3 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday campaigned for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Dera Baba Nanak Assembly constituency, Gurdeep Randhawa, urging people to support the party's candidate. 

Mann claimed that this time, the 'jharoo' would sweep everyone in Dera Baba Nanak. "All survey reports indicate our victory. The people have decided to defeat the Congress this time, as they have not done any work and have only registered false cases against the locals," he said.

The Punjab Chief Minister targeted Congress leader and former MLA Sukhjinder Randhawa, stating that he would soon expose all his misdeeds.

“These people have looted Punjab. While in power, he (Randhawa) amassed billions in assets from Gurdaspur to Amritsar. I have the files against Randhawa.”

Attacking Congress legislator Partap Singh Bajwa, CM Mann said that as the PWD Minister, he set up the highest number of toll plazas in Punjab.

"Since becoming Chief Minister, I have closed 16 toll plazas, saving the public over Rs 62 lakh daily," he said.

The Punjab Chief Minister said the government has made significant progress in two and a half years, and the results are now evident.

"Our work speaks for itself. Today, over 90 per cent of households are receiving zero electricity bills. The opponents ask us where we will get the funds, but we have delivered because our intentions are clear. When intentions are pure, everything becomes possible.

"We have provided government jobs to over 45,000 people without any bribery or favouritism. In previous governments, securing a government job without bribery was impossible. Recently, we implemented a historic decision by removing the requirement for an NOC (no-objection certificate) for registrations. Additionally, we introduced the One MLA One Pension policy, which saves the Punjab treasury millions of rupees each month. Previously, many former legislators were receiving seven or eight pensions; now, they receive only one," he said.

CM Mann also attacked Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, stating that those who claimed nothing would happen in Punjab without them knowing have fled the election field.

"They couldn't even find four candidates for the by-elections," he added.

The Chief Minister urged the public to choose a good representative this time, freeing themselves from these 'looters'.

Punjab's four Assembly seats -- three represented by the Congress and one by AAP -- fell vacant after MLAs from these constituencies were elected to the Lok Sabha this year. The bypoll is scheduled on November 13.

Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, the Congress legislator from Gidderbaha, was elected from the Ludhiana Parliamentary seat, while Raj Kumar Chabbewal, a Congress MLA who later switched loyalties to AAP, became MP from the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat.

Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who was a Congress legislator from the Dera Baba Nanak seat, got elected from the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat, while Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, the AAP legislator from Barnala, was elected as MP from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat.