Chandigarh, September 21
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab senior leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema has raised serious questions over the announcements made by newly appointed Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The AAP has alleged that Channi has loosened the sand mafia rather than tightened its reins. In the same way, three or four outright frauds have been committed in the name of giving money to the employees’ class. In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Tuesday, Harpal Singh Cheema said, “Contrary to the expectations, Charanjit Singh Channi has started misleading Punjab and the people in ‘Modi style’. The announcements made by Channi after taking oath and the ground realities confirm this.”
Cheema said without a solid mining policy and strong political will, the roots of the sand and gravel mafia which has been going on in Punjab for 20 years could not be eradicated. “How will the sand mafia be eradicated if landowners are allowed to extract sand from their land and sell it for free? This is not just a big question but a big suspicion that in the remaining 4-5 months the sand mafia will continue to do illegal mining under the guise of land owners,” he asserted.
The AAP leader said that as long as the Punjab government did not form a ‘Sand-Gravel Mining Corporation’ as per the Aam Aadmi Party’s manifesto, the sand mafia could not be eradicated and the looting of Punjab’s exchequer and the people could not be stopped. “Therefore, instead of taking misleading steps, the Channi government should immediately repeal the previous mining policy and formulate and implement a new and concrete mining policy immediately,” said Cheema.
Meanwhile, terming the announcements made by the Congress government regarding the employees as fraudulent, Harpal Singh Cheema said the dearness allowance applicable to the government employees from January 2016 is 125 percent, but the announcement has been made of 113 percent. There has been a reduction of 12 percent and an increase of 15 percent will be just 3 percent. He said the government announced a 15 percent increase in the salaries of government employees, but settled the lakhs of arrears from 2016 to June 2021. “Similarly, by implementing two formulas for determining the scale and allowances of government employees, a conspiracy is being hatched not only to divide the working class, but also to increase the technical complexity in determining the scale,” said Cheema.
According to Cheema, the scale of 2.25 percent under one formula and 2.59 percent under the other formula is not correct. Therefore, instead of applying the formula individually, a uniform and simple formula should be applied to all the employees, he said. Cheema alleged that Finance Minister Manpreet Badal had never spoken about the gratuity of Rs 20 lakh as per the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission. He also demanded from the new Chief Minister to make the raw employees permanent and to reinstate the old pension scheme.
Congress can’t get rid of royal habits
Reacting strongly to the newly appointed Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu’s use of chartered plane from Chandigarh to New Delhi, Harpal Singh Cheema said that no one becomes a ‘common man’ by saying, only his deeds reveal the truth of his personality. He said the real faces of Charanjit Singh Channi and Sidhu-Randhawa, who were calling themselves poor common man a day before; had been exposed. Cheema said the Congress could not give up its ‘royal habits’. He said Channi, Sidhu and Randhawa should clarify whether the chartered plane to meet the High Command was rented from the exchequer of the Punjab Government or from the exchequer of the Punjab Congress Committee or by any corporate or mafia has done a special favour.
Harpal Singh Cheema also termed the special services of Punjab government’s helicopter being provided by the new Channi government, apart from the previous Captain government; to the Congress Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat, as a looting of the exchequer and violation of rules.
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