Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday promised the Punjab Government employees that the sixth pay commission report would be implemented within 100 days of the party forming Government after 2017 Assembly elections.

In the same breath, he accused Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh of “cheating” the state’s youth by promising them 60 lakh jobs.

“When Amarinder was Chief Minister, he had imposed ban on the recruitment drive in government departments,” he pointed.

Talking about his promise regarding pay panel, he said that Punjab government had set up the sixth pay

commission but its report is not read yet. “We will ensure that report is submitted in time bound manner and also implemented within 100 days of forming government,” he added. He said that the AAP government would ensure that all installments of Dearness Allowance (DA) announced by the Centre were given to Punjab government employees within one month.

“The present SAD-BJP Government had not paid arrears of previous DA installments and even pensioners arrears of fifth pay commission are still pending. We will give Diwali bonus to all employees much before the Diwali day,” he said.

KEJRIWAl’S FIVE POSER TO CAPT AMARINDER

Posing five questions to the state Congress chief, Kejriwal criticized Capt Amarinder for “lying” on his promise of providing 60 lakh jobs to youth if Congress is voted to power. 

Kejriwal said that presently, there are only four lakh sanctioned posts in Punjab and the total number of central government employees is around 55 lakh.

He asked Capt Amarinder why he was “cheating” the state’s youth with “false promise” of job to every house as he was always “against government jobs” and had completely “banned” recruitment on vacant posts when he came to power in 2002.

“During his tenure, he didn’t fill even a single post”, then why people of Punjab should trust him this time, he said.

Kejriwal claimed that Amarinder started the system of employing people on contract and ad hoc basis.

AAP’s national convener also questioned Capt Amarinder for his decision to contest polls against him.  Kejriwal said: “Why he is so keen to contest against me and not against Badals or Majithia. I am not selling drugs, it is Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia who was involved in drug racket.”

“We are fighting against the Badal family and Majithia because defeating them is more important so AAP has fielded strong candidates against Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia,” he said.

‘SIDHU CONGRESS’

CM CANDIDATE’

Claiming that former parliamentarian Navjot Singh Sidhu is the “undeclared chief ministerial candidate” of the Congress party, Kejriwal said: “Sidhu had refused to join AAP when we refused the Deputy Chief Ministers post. It is a fact that he had decided to support Congress after he was promised Chief Minister’s post.”

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was “annoyed” with Capt Amarinder and would “dump” him after using him for campaigning, Kejriwal claimed. 

“Everyone knows today that he is the undeclared chief ministerial candidate of the Congress. That is why he declined AAP’s offer,” he said. 

AAP leader said that their chief ministerial candidate will not be like that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the Congress. “Our candidate will not wake up at 11 am but he will wake up at 5-6 am…He will work till 10 pm and will meet the public whenever they want to meet him,” he said.

“And he will not have Swiss bank accounts but he will have accounts in the State Bank of India,” Kejriwal said. “Amarinder Singh didn’t meet anybody after 6 pm,” he quipped adding that unlike Capt Amarinder who has his interests in Pakistan, “AAP Chief Minister would be loyal to his wife”.

At the same time, he did not reveal the name of AAP’s candidate saying it will be done “at the right time”.

Sidhu’s wife, Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, said that Sidhu has been telling people that one of the reasons the couple didn’t join AAP was because the party refused tickets to their ‘favourites’ named by her husband.

While the former cricketer is yet to officially join the Congress, the party has left it upon the Sidhu couple to decided whom among them would contest from Amritsar (East) assembly constituency, currently represented by Sidhu’s wife.