Chandigarh, July 30: Carrying on his tirade against the alleged misuse of public funds by the Badals during the previous SAD-BJP government (2007-17), Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday alleged that at least Rs 184.94 crore was spent on information and publicity during 2016-17 alone.
Sidhu said the previous government gave special unemployment stipend only worth Rs 16.87 lakh to 939 persons in the last nine years of their government. The state has approximately 3.22 lakh registered unemployed youth.
Quoting figures from the 2017 CAG report, Sidhu said Rs 236.73 crore was spent on government advertisements during 2015-17. The state government figures during the same period showed that it allocated Rs 20 crore for advertisements in 2014-15 and Rs 40 crore in 2015-16.
Also speaking on the occasion, RTI activist Daljit Singh said between April 2016 and January 2017, in many as 20 video clips, government projects were shown as personal initiatives of the Badals. “In seven clips, the government was addressed to as ‘Badal sarkar’. The CAG had objected to the use of pictures of Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur in state government advertisements,” he said.
When asked about action on his previous allegations, Sidhu said: “I have forwarded the recommendations to the Chief Minister’s office. I am sure he will initiate the desired action.” On the ongoing tussle in AAP, Sidhu alleged: “Kejriwal is a selfish person. AAP is acting as a B-team of the SAD.”
Source Tribune India
