Why is Kejriwal allowed to run Punjab's affairs, Sukhbir asks CM

Chandigarh, Feb 15 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday said it was condemnable that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was asserting that the Governor could not ask him any questions because he was "selected" and not "elected", but was allowing AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal to run the affairs of Punjab.

"I want to ask the Chief Minister: Has Arvind Kejriwal been elected from Punjab?" he asked.

Badal claimed that similarly Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who too had not been elected from Punjab, had framed the excise policy of the state. "Even Raghav Chadha, who has not been directly elected by Punjabis, is deciding on all civil and police postings."

Addressing the media in Adampur, he said: "The Chief Minister is directly responsible for the constitutional crisis which has gripped the state. He has handed over the affairs of Punjab to the AAP Delhi leadership which is unconstitutional. He is also refusing to answer questions the Governor has asked him which relate to corruption and illegal decisions. These questions were also asked by all political parties of Punjab. Political parties and well-meaning citizens even tried to get their answers through RTI queries but they were blocked."

"Following this the political parties approached the Governor and he has asked the Chief Minister to furnish information on the unconstitutional decisions taken by the government," Badal said.

Asserting that SAD had always been a votary of federalism and was against Central interference in the affairs of states, Badal said "many of the issues raised by the Governor pertain to corruption and even unconstitutional appointments as well as discontinuation of studies of 2.5 lakh scheduled caste students due to non-payment of their scholarship. The AAP government should not shy away from coming clean on these issues of public welfare".

He cited how SAD had approached Governor Banwarilal Purohit and requested him to make the Aam Aadmi Party accountable for all advertisements issued by the government outside Punjab in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat prior to the Assembly elections there.

"We had called for recovery of the entire public money wasted by the government in advertisements in other states from the Aam Aadmi Party," Badal said.

Asserting that people were suffering due to the "wrong policies" of the government, including allocating Rs 750 crore for advertisements in a single year, Badal said the same money could have been used on various social welfare schemes.