Punjab Congress on Tuesday said that Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had no moral right to continue in office in wake of severest ever indictment not by the opposition but from one of his own colleagues, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who had exposed his tall claims about development and unaccountability to his own announcements.
In a joint statement issued, Congress leaders including Tarlochan Singh Soond, Charanjit Singh Channi, MlA Charanjit Kaur Bajwa and others said that going by the press notes issued by State Public Relations Department, Deputy Chief Minister had made several tall announcements amounting to thousands of crores for development of the State during the last six months but the implementation of the same has been challenged by Dr Sidhu saying such announcements remain only on paper.
They said what was all the more serious that Dr Sidhu has questioned the very “vision” of the State Government regarding the provision of quality life to the residents of Amritsar from where she has been elected to the Assembly on BJP ticket, the party with which, as Sukhbir and his father Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claim, the alliance was more than just being a political arrangement. As such, no political motives could be attached to this strong criticism of Sukhbir by Dr Sidhu.
The Congress leaders pointed out that what had provoked the CPS to come out publicly against the Government in which she herself is a partner was the non-implementation of the promise made by Sukhbir of releasing Rs 100 crore for development of Amritsar East, the constituency, she represents. However, not a paisa had been released so far. He said it was Dr Sidhu who was on record saying that except for false promises, the leaders and their blue-eyed officials deliver nothing. She had attacked the State government policies as being directionless with lack of commitment and willpower to implement even these visionless policies that reduces such announcements to mere political tamasha.
They said Dr Sidhu had endorsed the charges of State Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa that this Government was directionless with its top leaders motivated by only self-interest. Congress leaders said that as it was a direct attack on Sukhbir Singh Badal by his own colleague, he had no moral right to continue in office. They said Dr Sidhu was not any factional leader in the alliance and as such, her criticism was not inspired by any other consideration.