Chandigarh, July 2
Due to non-availability of electricity in the scorching heat, every resident of Punjab is protesting outside their homes; only one person is having fun sitting in his house and that is Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. This was stated by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab state president and MP Bhagwant Mann during a press conference held at the party headquarters here on Friday and announced that the AAP would gherao Captain Amarinder Singh’s Siswan farmhouse on Saturday, July 3 at 11 am to wake him up from slumber. Expressing concern over the outcry in Punjab due to non-availability of electricity, Bhagwant Mann said, “Rulers will rejoice and the common people starve; it won’t last long.” He said that on July 3, the people of Punjab would check the meters of Captain Amarinder Singh‘s Siswan Farmhouse to find out how many hours of power outage was taking place there due to severe power outages in Punjab.
Mann said that due to non-availability of electricity from tubewells, farmers were forced to carry paddy in their fields. He said that during the last elections, Captain Amarinder Singh and the Congress had made many promises to the people but none of them were fulfilled. “On the contrary, the deadly power pacts and mafia rule implemented by the SAD-BJP government are going on in the same way under Captain Amarinder Singh,” he added. Mann said that due to wrong agreements made by the Badals with the private thermal plants and non-cancellation of the agreements by the present Congress government; the power situation in the state had deteriorated. Referring to the faulty power agreements made by the Badals, Bhagwant Mann said that the private companies could shut down the thermal plants at their own discretion and in case of closure of the thermal plants the Punjab government would have to pay a fixed charge.
The AAP state president further said that so far around Rs 20,000 crore had been paid to the private power companies by fixed charge which had looted the exchequer of Punjab. “Like the Badals, Captain Amarinder Singh is bent on ruining Punjab economically and filling his house,” said Mann. He alleged that Captain had backstabbed the people of Punjab by not canceling the wrong power deals. “Today, when the farmers, laborers, businessmen, industrialists, employees, students, means every section is suffering due to lack of electricity; at that time Captain Amarinder Singh was enjoying 36 types of food at his farmhouse with Congress MLAs and on the other hand half of the Congress MLAs and ministers were rubbing their noses at the feet of ‘Delhi Darbar’ to save their seats,” said Mann.
Describing the protests being staged by Sukhbir Badal over the poor power situation as a sham, Bhagwant Mann said that the Akali Dal Badal and the BJP government had entered into wrong agreements with the private power companies. He asked former minister Bikram Majithia to state how many solar power plants were installed during the Akali government and in whose name? Mann said that with the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, a new power model would be implemented which would pave the way for other states. “Punjab is a power generating state, but due to the bad intentions of inferior governments, the deadly power agreements for Punjab have been made here,” he added. Mann said that with the formation of the AAP government, the wrong power agreements with private thermal plants would be investigated and if necessary would be canceled. At the same time, strict action will be taken against top officials who made the wrong agreements, he said.
