Says Punjab BJP chief is ‘talking nonsense’
Dismissing Punjab BJP president Shawet Malik’s statement as “totally absurd and nonsensical”, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has trashed his “ridiculous” comments on his and his Government’s functioning. He accused Malik of resorting to cheap tactics to divert people’s attention from his own party’s failure at the Centre.
“The people of Punjab have elected me, and not the BJP, to run the state,” said the Chief Minister, urging Malik to stay out of the affairs of the government and stick to managing his own party, which was staring at total decimation in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Capt Amarinder made it clear that his officers and team members were following his directives and executing his orders, which was what they had been appointed to do.
Given the BJP’s own track record of “misgovernance”, no member of that party had any locus stand to comment on the functioning of the incumbent Congress government said the Chief Minister, asking if Malik even know how his government and team were working?
Capt Amarinder said that unlike the Akalis, who never allowed its Ministers, including those from the BJP, and officers to work independently, he believed in decentralisation of authority.
“I have given full freedom to my Ministers to work and all policy decisions are decided by me in the Cabinet. As for the officers, I issue instructions to my CPCM, CS, DGP and PS and they carry them out,” he said adding that Malik perhaps wouldn’t understand this, as such autonomy eludes BJP’s form of governance.
He said that every member of his staff was doing an effective and efficient job of managing the affairs of the government, as was manifest in the major strides the state was making in every sphere of governance.
Capt Amarinder said that in the last one and a half years, his government had provided jobs, in private and government sectors and through self-employment, to 3.89 lakh youths, which translated to almost 695 youths gaining employment every day.
For the first time in the last many years, the real estate sector in Punjab was witnessing an upward swing, as stamp duty and registration revenue collections were up by 15 percent. “In fact, revenue collections in August have increased by 35.71 percent, as compared to August last,” he added.
As regards the agriculture sector, the Chief Minister reminded Malik that Punjab recorded the highest production of wheat, paddy and cotton last year and is poised to cross all records this year too. “We produced 178.50 lakh tons of wheat in Rabi 2018 with per hectare productivity of 50.90 quintals, the highest ever. Similarly, the production of paddy in kharif 2017 was an all-time high at 199.72 lakh tons, with a record per hectare yield of 65.16 quintals,” said Capt Amarinder, adding that all this happened due to good management on account of timely supply of quality seeds, fertilizers, agro-chemicals, power for tubewells and canal irrigation.
The Chief Minister said that despite some losses on account of the recent rains, this season Punjab is again looking at a record paddy production of 205 lakh tons, with a per hectare yield of over 66 quintals. Even the cotton yield is expected to be 780 kg lint per hectare this year, as compared to 757 kg per hectare in the last kharif, he said, adding that his government would also ensure that the procurement process is hassle-free and smooth, as it had been in the last three seasons.
Taking on the SAD-BJP combine, he said that while Malik’s party and its ally, the Akalis, did nothing, except lip service, for the debt-ridden farmers in the state in their decade long rule, his government had already waived off co-operative bank crop loans of 3,07,045 farmers, amounting Rs 1,736.29 crore.
“Industry, which fled Punjab due to lopsided policies and mass corruption during the Akali-BJP regime, has finally started looking towards the state,” he said.
“So rather than speaking about my government and its functioning, it will be better if Malik explains to the people why the BJP has not fulfilled the promises of creating employment for two crore youths every year, controlling fuel prices, checking the slide of the rupee, bringing back black money and doubling the farmers’ income”, said the Chief Minister.